SkillsUSA NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Jane Short, SkillsUSA
Phone: (703) 737-0612
Email: jshort@skillsusa.org

Leah Morton, 18, Chugiak, a student at the King Career Center and an Alaska gold medalist in Commercial Baking was the recipient of a mikeroweWORKS Foundation scholarship to attend the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., June 22-26. Mike Rowe, former host of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" and current host of CNN's "Somebody's Got To Do It," created the foundation in 2008 to, in his words, "give something back and challenge the prevailing definition of a 'good job.' For decades, we have put a premium on a four-year degree, and told an entire generation that trade schools and skilled labor are alternatives to higher education. Hyperbole aside, the skills gap is real. Our infrastructure is crumbling. And, our country is scrambling to put itself back together."

The scholarship provides support for SkillsUSA state contest winners who have insufficient personal resources to travel to and participate in the 2015 National SkillsUSA Championships. The total contribution this year was $95,000 - up from $50,000 in 2014 because of the generosity of not only mikeroweWORKS, but also DEWALT and Cisco Systems, Inc. This year's scholarship award amounts were determined by the geographic travel distance to Louisville, Kentucky. The winners will also have the opportunity to meet with a member of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation staff during the conference.

This is the fifth consecutive year that the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, in partnership with SkillsUSA, has offered scholarships for SkillsUSA members who compete and place first in their state's SkillsUSA Championships and who otherwise would not be able to attend the national SkillsUSA Championships for financial reasons. The scholarship is awarded based on a student-written narrative describing the need for the scholarship and lack of school or community resources. A student may be nominated with a letter of recommendation written by his or her SkillsUSA advisor or the SkillsUSA state association director.

This year, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation had a priority focus on high school and college/postsecondary students who are working toward careers in manufacturing, construction, automotive, engineering and STEM-related trade occupations.

Since 2011, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation has provided scholarship support to 262 SkillsUSA students, representing an investment of more than $261,000 in America's future skilled workforce.

Congratulations to North Pole High School automotive instructor Jerry Million and his students Andrew Risner and Cole Vinton, who took second place in the nation in the Ford AAA Student Auto Skills Competition earlier this month!

The Fairbanks Newsminer has the complete story at http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/north-pole-auto-team-takes-second-in-national-contest/article_70e37b74-0f3e-11e5-b964-073fc075aea1.html#.VXng6r_XDbE.email.

The Mat-Su Frontiersman reports that Mat-Su Career Tech High School culinary students won the 2015 Alaska ProStart Invitational, while the Palmer High team finished third.  Both teams earned college scholarships for their awesome performances. Congratulations to these CTE students- a great way to celebrate CTE Month!




Read the entire article at http://www.frontiersman.com/content/tncms/live/#. 

Highlighted today on our Celebrate Success page - Glenallen develops hydroponic program; students grow and sell veggies, meet with USDA Secretary.  Read the entire article here.

By the Galena Hawk Highlights staff 
Reprinted here with permission from The Hawk Highlights, Galena, Alaska

When a construction worker fell off the Ptarmigan Hall roof on Wednesday evening, the first medical responder on the scene was GILA senior Emmie Ellis. Emmie became a state certified emergency trauma technician in 2013 following her training in GILA’s health sciences program. When the construction worker tumbled 35 feet to the ground after slipping on a rain-slick rooftop, Emmie was meeting with residence hall dean of students Ben Blasco.

“We saw him fall,” she said. After calling 911, she and Mr. Blasco ran outside. “He looked like he had partially fallen onto the concrete.” Emmie’s emergency medical training kicked in. “He was obviously distraught,” Emmie said. The 17-year-old from Delta Junction told the construction worker she was an emergency medical technician, and she asked several questions to check his coherence.

Download the entire story here in PDF - or read it online at http://hawkhighlights.com/news/2014/201409-news/student_medical_aid.html.

Is there a CTE program, student, teacher or instructor, administrator, or supporter you want us to highlight? Please download and complete the form below - or ask the appropriate person to do that, then email it to Marcia.Olson@Alaska.Gov, and we'll add it to our Celebrate Success page (http://www.alaskacteplan.com/celebrate-success.html).

Celebrating CTE Success - Share Your Story -  Information Form (fillable PDF)

From the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,  September 9, 2014
By Caitlin Skvorc

WASILLA — Students from Mat-Su Career and Technical High School have put Alaska on the global map with scientific research beyond their years.

Career and Tech students Lucas Arthur, Kailey Carlson, Joshua Hartman and Ariel Hasse were selected with four other teams from across the United States for the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Learning Expedition, a “worldwide hands-on primary and secondary school-based science and education program,” according to the organization’s website.

Read the entire article.