McIntosh students earn state honors

Six McIntosh High School graphic arts students earned medals recently in state level skills competition.

The students, who are members of Skills USA-VICA, a technical/career student club, competed at the organization's state conference and competition held recently in Atlanta. Four of the students earned gold medals and will advance to national competition in Kansas City this summer.

The students, who have all been in the MHS Graphic Arts program for several years, used their graphics skills to compete in a variety of contests.

Placing first in Advertising Design was Chris Dunn, who worked on the drawing table as well as on the computer to create a layout and design for a printed product.

Dunn, along with Adam Jessen, also earned a gold medal in the Promotional Bulletin Board contest. The students used their artistic talents and their computer skills to construct a bulletin board featuring the value of Skills USA-VICA membership.

Jessen presented the bulletin board to the judges in a prepared speech. The two had also earned gold medals in the same contest last year.

First place in Action Skills went to Melvin Bruce, who demonstrated the process he had used to print an image on ceramic mugs. Bruce presented a speech during which he explained and demonstrated the steps from design through production in the process of pad printing.

Kayti Haugh earned a gold medal in the Photography competition. Haugh submitted a black and white print for judging, developed film, shot slides, set up photo shoots, and did a variety of other activities during the contest.

Placing second in the area of Graphic Communications was Spencer Wadsworth. This competition requires that the student run an offset press, create a layout on the computer, assemble film, interview for a job, and take written tests.

Michael Amosu earned a bronze medal in the Skills USA-VICA Pin Design contest. The winning design is made into a pin for the state organization and is swapped with Skills USA-VICA members from throughout the nation at the national competition. Amosu had earned two other pin design medals at last year's state conference.

Three other club members, David Briggs, Andrew Anderson, and Billy Croker also attended the conference and entered the pin design contest.

In addition to sponsoring extensive areas of competition, the Skills USA-VICA organization offers students the opportunity to participate in a school club, to take on leadership responsibilities, and to participate in community service projects. At McIntosh, Skills USA-VICA is open to all students in the Graphic Arts program.

The club is trying to raise $2,800 to cover student expenses at the week-long national conference during the last week of June.

Anyone interested in helping support this project should contact McIntosh High School for details or send an e-mail to mhsgraphics@mindspring.com.

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