La Porte County Career and Technical Education Students from the A. K. Smith Career Center in Michigan City took part in the SkillsUSA Indiana Region 1 competition on Saturday, February 24. Several of these students placed among the top finishers and will advance to the State level competition on April 14.
The A. K. Smith Welding Fabrication Team placed second at the competition. Team members included Mandy Cannan of Michigan City High School, Cameron Perkins of La Porte High School, and Gage Koepke of La Porte High School. In the individual Welding competition, Alex Toth of Westville High School placed third and Rylan Epple of La Porte High School placed fourth; both will advance to State. The Welding instructor at A.K. Smith is Raymond Goss.
In Construction Technology, two local students will advance to the State level SkillsUSA contest. They include Cade Howard of Lacrosse High School and Ashton Wollum of Michigan City High School. The Construction Technology instructor at A. K. Smith is Dick Bucher.