Seward County Independent

    Students from Seward High School represented the area well at the national SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Mo., during the last week in June.
     Each state and three countries send representatives in each division.
     Three Seward students placed sixth in their respective competitions, with four others finishing in the top 20, SkillsUSA Advisor Kurt Holliday said. Only the top three competitors are given medals.
     Keri Volnek, Liz Thrailkill and Holly Petersen earned sixth in their contests.
     Volnek, who will be senior at SHS, competed in medical assisting, the same area in which she competed last year.
     "She keeps working to get better," Holliday said. "We're hoping for a medal next year."
     Thrailkill, who graduated in May, earned sixth in related technical math.
     "I know it's a tough competition. To get sixth is really great," Holliday said. "She did a terrific job."
     Petersen, who will be a senior, did well in the prepared speech competition. Each speaker had to give a five- to seven-minute presentation on SkillsUSA Champions in the Workforce - Professional Development.
     "She's always prepared," Holliday said.
     Eric Heinicke, who will be a junior in the fall, was ninth in aviation maintenance.
     "The competition was stiff, and Eric did a nice job," Holliday said. "Sometimes the competition is really tough and you don't know what the judges want."
     Becky Wagner, a rising senior at SHS, finished 12th in nurse assisting.
     "She was 23rd last year, so she was pretty pleased with her performance," Holliday said. "She could be in the hunt next year."
     Seward students earned two 16th-place finishes at the national competition.
     In the 3-D Animation contest, Seward's team of Joe Miner and Michael Pfeiffer, both of whom graduated in May, finished 16th. Holliday said this year's animation design was more open to allow for more creativity.
     Each team had to develop an
    environment or background scene evoking a mood. Miner and Pfeiffer chose a graveyard that included a digging shovel and fog to help create a gloomy atmosphere.
     Ryan Coufal, who will be a senior, was 16th in advertising and design. Holliday said he showed a big improvement from last year's competitions.
     Each student was required to build, reconstruct and duplicate advertisements. This year's original theme was for a cellular phone. Holliday said Coufal chose a pulse for his ad, using a heart monitor line and a green phone with an alien head on it.
     Alex Hartmann, an SHS graduate, placed 26th in the promotional bulletin board contest. The past two years she has competed in the prepared speech division, but she was sick during the state competition this year and could not compete.
     This was the first year Seward has tried the bulletin board event, Holliday said. Not only did the students create a bulletin board, but they also put together a book on its creation and the reasons they decorated it as they did.
     The team of Josh Luff, who will be a senior, and Alex Koehler, who will be a sophomore, finished 32nd in video production. The students had to produce a promotional video for the war memorial in Kansas City, Holliday said.
     "With their limited experience, I was impressed with how they did," he said.
     Jessica Clowser competed in job interview and was eighth in her section. Holliday said her experience served her well.
     "She always does a good job with this," he said.
     Seward's SkillsUSA state officers-Coufal, Volnek and Austin Taibemal-also participated in meetings throughout the week.
     All the students attended seminars and meetings during their time in Kansas City, Holliday said, adding that they were busy the whole time they were there.
     "It was a great experience," he said. "I hope the underclassmen get there again."