EKB News

Two classes from the Mingo Career and Technical Center (MCTC) recently teamed up to win a 3rd Place award in a national competition.The graphic design and building construction classes at MCTC teamed up to build a large scale model of the classic Operation board game. The model displayed 21st century skills required to be successful in today’s global economy. MCTC’s version of Operation earned a Bronze medal in the Chapter Display competition.The project began when the student dismantled an actual Operation game to find out how it works. Students studied everything from the graphics on the board to the electronics. The two teams used the skills learned at MCTC to address different aspects of the project. The graphic design team then created new pieces for their project that showcased 21st century skills, as well as modifying the look of the game board to resemble the uniform worn by the SkillsUSA club. The building construction class created a blueprint and built the cabinet of the game, which was functional as well as interactive; the nose of the figure on the cabinet lights up and buzzers sound when the sides of the game are touched. An oral presentation accompanied the display, given by Mariea Vance.
Graphic Design instruction Doug Martin said he was pleased to see students from the two different classes working together.“They were using one of the most important skills to be successful in the 21st century, teamwork,” Martind said. “That is something that is not taught, but is learned by real world experiences.”“It was fun watching the classes team up to produced such an outstanding display,” building construction teacher Brad Justice said.Representing MCTC at the competition were Jonah Coleman and Mariea Vance from graphic design and Aaron Bartoe from building construction.Coleman graduated from Burch High School in June. He is currently attending Columbus College of Art and Design, where received the Presidential Scholarship.Vance is a senior at Tug Valley High School as well as studying graphic design for the second year at MCTC. After graduation, she plans to pursue a graphic design degree.Bartoe, who also graduated from Burch in 2008, is currently attending Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.SkillsUSA, formerly known as VICA, is a national organization for trade, industrial and technical students at vocational career centers. Working against the clock and each other, the participants proved their expertise in job skills for almost every job skill. Every county in the state competes for a chance to qualify for the national competition. The state gold medal winners advance to the National SkillsUSA championships, which were held in Kansas City.While team members were pleased with their 3rd place award in such a prestigious competition, they are still striving to bring home the gold.Mariea Vance gave this prediction: “Next year we will win this contest!”

Courtesy : Julia Goad Staff Writer of The Williamson Daily News.