LTHS Students Win Gold At National SkillsUSA Competition

LOCKPORT, IL — SkillsUSA held its annual National Leadership and Skills Competition virtually last month, and three LTHS students part of the Engineering Technology Design team won first place, according to a release from the school. The competition consisted of trade, technical, and leadership contest events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation, the school said.

The LTHS team, which included Yasmin Alaya, Emma Oster and Anthony "AJ" Ficek, presented their invention and demonstrated the ability to design an innovative engineering project and present their ideas with a display and live model, the school said. The team was judged on their performance as a professional team, presentation of their invention to a panel of judges from the field of engineering, their storyboard presentation model, and the overall effect of the presentation.

For their "Intruder Stopper" invention, Alaya, Oster and Ficek were awarded the first place gold medal in engineering technology design. The device is designed to quickly and easily prevent an intruder from entering a classroom or office door, according to a release.

The first place gold medal is the highest honor a SkillsUSA student can achieve in engineering, and this is the first time a LTHS student or team has done so, the school said.

Alaya and Oster graduated in June and will be pursuing engineering degrees, the school said.

Ficek, who will be a senior this year, reflected on the experience, “You can’t get frustrated with the failures you have. You have to revise your plan and learn from your mistakes to get to success.”

At LTHS, Jeff Brown leads the Engineering Technology Design Team and Matt Mullins serves as the SkillsUSA Advisor.

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