UAA diesel tech student takes bronze at national competition
by Tracy Kalytiak |
UAA student Dustin Jenne took home bronze after competing in the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Mo., in June. More than 6,000 high school and college students participated in this hands-on competition in 99 different trade, technical and leadership fields.
UAA student Dustin Jenne (second from right) won a bronze medal in the diesel equipment technology competition at the recent national SkillsUSA Championships. (Photo courtesy of UAA Community & Technical College)
Jenne, a student in the UAA Community & Technical College's Heavy Duty Transportation & Equipment program, competed in the area of diesel equipment technology. His gold-medal win during the state competition in March led to his advancement to the national competition.
A GSE supervisor at F&E Aircraft Maintenance, Jenne supervises the operations of a heavy-equipment repair shop that uses 89 pieces of equipment that range from aircraft tire-changing equipment to main deck cargo loaders. He has also served in the U.S. Air Force, managing vehicle maintenance sections and working on a variety of pieces of heavy equipment-from snowplows and blowers to tractor-trailers and base maintenance equipment. He has also worked in a body shop and learned basic body repair.
Diesel equipment technology contestants cycle through 14 stations testing and troubleshooting
engines, electrical and electronics systems and power train systems. They also demonstrate
skills in hydraulic systems, vehicle inspections, fundamental failure analysis, brake
systems and air-conditioning systems. Contestants must also perform a job interview
and complete a written test.
Technical committees made up of representatives from labor and management plan the
contests, which are designed to test skills needed for a successful entry-level performance
in given occupational fields. Safety practices and procedures-areas of great concern
to labor and management alike-are judged and graded, and constitute a portion of a
contestant's score.
SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical
and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually
to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and encourage
them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations.
Learn more about SkillsUSA at www.skillsusa.org.
Written by Kirstin Olmstead, communications coordinator, UAA Community & Technical College.
"UAA diesel tech student takes bronze at national competition" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
