ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997               TAG: 9703050064
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER

TESTING SKILLS: VOCATIONAL STUDENTS PUT LEARNING TO WORK AT REGIONAL MEET

The only sound coming from the cosmetology room is the faint tick of an egg timer.

Sixteen teen-age girls silently roll plastic pink curlers into long strands of hair. As the strong smell of hair mousse hangs in the air, the students only have 30 minutes to set their volunteers' hair in a casual, "daytime" look.

Nobody is talking in a room on the other side of the vocational wing either. But it is noisy: boys pounding nails, drilling through plywood, zipping out tape measures. Sawdust covers the floor and fills the nostrils, reminiscent of a house under construction.

But there's not a peep from another group of high school students waiting in a cramped conference room. With pressed red blazers or shiny black high-heeled pumps, these meticulously dressed teens sit wringing their hands, eyes focused on the door of the job-interview room.

Such is the nervous agitation, the excitement, the craftsmanship glimpsed at the District VII Vocational Industrial Clubs of America competition.

This year's event, which brought together students from about 20 schools from Botetourt to Giles counties, was held Monday at Pulaski County High School.

Students compete in skills learned from vocational classes in high school, or in leadership events often practiced through membership in VICA.

Many of these students say what they learn now, they'll be using on the job after they graduate from high school. And, said Blacksburg senior Cathy Denis, it's fun.

"I'm not really nervous," said Denis, an aspiring cosmetologist, "it's just good practice."

Over in the building trades, the students had reason enough to be nervous as they pounded nails into plywood planks. Allen Audis, one of two judges, kept a watchful eye on the students' technique and whether they followed safety procedures.

Like most of the judges, Audis came from the "real" world. He runs a construction company in Dublin and said the skills students were trying to perfect would be the same ones he'd look for in employees.

That's the whole point of VICA, said Pulaski teacher Tim Dalrymple. He points to one student working slower than the rest in the residential wiring competition. The boy is experienced, Dalrymple said, and patient enough to take his time and think through the challenge. That's what employers want to see.

Carrie Webb, a senior at Christiansburg, said she joined VICA for that job experience. Last year, she placed second in the job interview category; this year, she wanted to win the division and go on to state competition. As she waited in the room with the other competitors, she said the judges evaluate everything.

"Your appearance, how you present yourself. ... Like, last year, I applied for a cosmetology assistant job and [the judges] asked me stuff like what kind of qualities would help with this job," she said.

Winners from this round will head to Roanoke for the state competition in April. But, reminded one teacher before the start of the cosmetology competition, "everyone's a winner for coming out and trying."

LENGTH: Medium:   66 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON. Anthony Conner and Travis Jones, students 
          at Christiansburg High School, wire outlets as part of the VICA 
          building trades competition at Pulaski County High School. color.