AA Students Medal in SkillsUSA Competition

Advantage Academy CTE students competed in SkillsUSA competitions last week at various locations across the state. Due to the bad weather on Wednesday, the award ceremony was held this week via livestream. Many students earned medals for their stellar performances in their respected fields. 

The Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC/R) program is just in it's second year at Advantage Academy. The HVAC/R Technology program offers students specialized training related to the design, installation, and repair of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems for residential and commercial use. These courses emphasize the theory and design of electrical, electronic, mechanical, and pneumatic control systems used in air conditioning systems. Additionally, students focus on procedures used in troubleshooting, servicing, and installing components of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems.

The HVAC/R competition included a series of testing stations designed to assess skills identified by industry HVAC/R standards. Industry equipment used during the workstations portion of the competition included, but was not limited to, ice machines, refrigerated display cases, small package HVAC units, furnaces and split-system air conditioning and/or heat pump systems, mini-split and/or ductless systems, and geothermal units.

Students in teams of three demonstrated their ability to design an innovative engineering project and present those ideas along with a display and live model. During the presentation, students were judged on their performance as a professional team, presentation of their project to a panel of judges from the engineering field, their storyboard presentation model, and the overall effect of the presentation.

Emergency Medical Service students were evaluated on the knowledge and skills required for competent practice within the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) field. The event simulated situations encountered by emergency medical professionals that include either a medical or trauma clinical scenario. Each scenario required the use of critical thinking skills, communication, and demonstration of professionalism.