The THINC Robotics Alliance Team recently traveled to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the SkillsUSA National Championships, a series of competitive events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation.  Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels.  At the event, THINC students Devin Joyce and Shay Griffin placed second overall in the Humanoid Robotics category.

“It was certainly a surprise to see so many of them accomplish so much,” said Joe Sumner, THINC Mechatronics and Manufacturing Instructor who accompanied the students on the week-long event. “These events teach students soft skills, leadership, professional development, teamwork, but also they put a focus on career and technical skills.”

Per the SkillsUSA website, the SkillsUSA Championship was designed to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to training relevant to employers’ needs.

This most recent event was a part of the 53rd annual National Leadership and Skills Conference and saw more than 6,000 career and technical education students, all state contest winners, compete in more than 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields.

Essentially, this was no rag-tag event. Students from our very own THINC Academy traveled more than 700 miles round trip to compete against the best and brightest technical education students this country has to offer, and showed themselves to be of the highest quality.

Congratulations to Devin and Shay, as well as the rest of the THINC students who participated. This is something to be proud of.