REXBURG — In Brigham Young University-Idaho automotive department, teachers and students are shattering expectations and bringing taking home trophies.
Justin Adams, a student from Rexburg, recently became the Idaho state champion for the SkillsUSA Automotive Service Technology contest. This is the ninth consecutive year a BYU-Idaho student has placed first in the competition.
In the competition, contestants demonstrate their ability to perform jobs and skills based on ASE certification. ASE stands for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
There are 13 skill stations to test the participant’s knowledge and the contest includes a written test.
“There are some hands-on portions of (the contest), where you actually have to take apart components and put them back together in an appropriate fashion so that they still work,” Adams said.
The first place win helped Adams reach his goal to go to the national competition, but not before some confusion during the competition.
“I was nervous when we ended up on stage, and they had everybody come up, and they called third place, and they called my name, and I was like ‘third place, I was sure I did better than that,’” Adams said. “And they called second, which was another person from BYUI, and they called first place, and they called my name again!”
Justin Miller is the automotive program coordinator for BYU-Idaho. He said he’s proud of the work his students are doing.
“It makes me feel good,” Miller said. “You always are wondering what kind of a job you’re doing, and that’s one – at least one piece of feedback that lets us know we’re doing some things right when our students perform well against their peers,”
The BYU-Idaho Automotive Technology Program offers several degrees. Three of the newest include advanced vehicle systems, automotive tech management and automotive vehicle tech. Right now, there are about 230 students majoring in the automotive technology program.
For information about any of the degrees or emphases in the department, visit http://www.byui.edu/automotive-technology/
This story was originally published and broadcast on BYU-Idaho Radio. It is used here with permission.
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