THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505020110
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LORRAINE MIZE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
When most teenagers come to Virginia Beach for the weekend, it's to soak up some rays or ride the waves. But for more than 1,800 high school students gathered last weekend at the Pavilion, things were a bit more serious.
They were building brick walls, hammering and nailing, programming robots, cutting and styling hair, cooking, fixing cars and filming television promotions.
They were participating in the Virginia Association of the Vocational Industrial Clubs of American's (VICA) 31st annual State Leadership Conference and Skills Championship.
Attending the conference were between 1,800 and 2,000 students, teachers, administrators and industry leaders from across the state.
Highlighting the two-day meeting were the skills and leadership championships Saturday morning at Pavilion and other facilities around the area. From auto service to robotics, the 56 skill contests pitted students against the clock. In the leadership championships, students were challenged in 24 contests from job interviewing to public speaking.
Students participating in the television production area spent their allotted time making a 30-second promotional spot for the event.
Mikhiel Debraux, a senior at Oscar Smith High School, and Heather Crawford, a senior at Indian River High School, were filming some future cosmetologists for their spot.
``We take this course through the Chesapeake Center for Science and Technology TV production lab,'' Mikhiel said. ``We do everything from start to finish including all the taping and editing.'' Mikhiel plans to join the military and further his study of broadcast production.
For Heather, this is just the first step to her career in broadcasting. ``I'm going to Tidewater Community College the first two years, then transfer to a four-year college and major in journalism. I want to be able to do it all, whether it's writing, being in front of the cameras or behind it,'' she said.
Virginia's VICA boasts approximately 14,000 members. Nationally, membership is expected to exceed 300,000 this year. The purpose of the organization is to prepare students for futures in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations.
But VICA does much more than provide job training for students. ``This competition helps build self-esteem in the students,'' said Annette Banks, a teacher form Manassas. ``It also gives them a feel for the pressures there are in the real world. It's a very competitive job market out there and this gives them an edge.''
The students competing weren't the only ones feeling the pressure, however. Janice and Ray Isaacs of Salem, Va., felt tense while watching their son David compete in the cabinet-making event.
``I feel pretty good this year,'' Janice Isaacs said. ``I'm a lot more relaxed than I was in Richmond last year, but it's still exciting to stand back and watch.''
Ray Isaacs said, ``This is not something he picked up at home. Everything he's learned has been through this program and now he plans on making a career of it.''
Even though they weren't competing, Iyawanna Still and Danielle Howard were concentrating just as fiercely as the cosmetology students they were helping. Juniors at Bayside and Tallwood high schools, the girls were serving as runners for the competitors.
``We're watching and trying to learn as much as possible because we know we'll be in there competing next year,'' Iyawanna said.
While the competition teaches motivation and self-discipline, another result is team spirit. Three young men from Norfolk displayed that team spirit in the robotics competition.
Juniors Tim Vango and Richard Caylor and sophomore Jason McCrory learn about robotics through the Norfolk Technical Vocational Center's Norstar (Norfolk Public Schools Science and Technology Advanced Research) program.
Not only are they learning to build robots, but to fix and program them as well. ``Ricky and Tim are working on an `explorer robot' and I'm doing a water craft which will take samples of bodies of water,'' Jason said.
All three plan on going to college - Tim to become a mechanical engineer, Ricky a chemical engineer and Jason hopes to work directly troubleshooting robotics. ``I'm not really that interested in programming, but I love to work on these things,'' he said.
According to Tim Lawrence, Virginia VICA executive officer, more than 300 business and industry personnel served as technical committee members and judges. ``Not only do these corporate sponsors serve as judges, they also provide thousands of dollars in tools, materials, equipment and scholarships,'' he said.
Armand Taylor, Virginia Beach VICA representative, said Beach Ford, Saturn, DeWalt, Snap-on Tools and Virginia Power were just a few of the sponsors. Judges for the competitions were specialists in their fields. One judge in the carpentry competition was School Board member Robert Hall.
Many of the state champions from Saturday's competition will advance to the skills USA Championships in Kansas City, Mo., in June. Winners in Kansas City move on to the international competition.
In 1994, eight national medallions were won by Virginians and two Virginia students were elected to serve as national VICA officers.
Internationally, Virginia VICA students were members of three of the last four meets in Japan, Australia and Great Britain.
Several local students were winners at last weekend's competition.
Career Development Center students: Jacoby Winchester, first in copier repair; Joseph Mrazik, first in auto maintenance; William Gardner, first place, custodial service; and Bobby Franke, second place, copier repair.
VoTech students: Orion Jacobs, first place, advertising design; Steve Segar, first place, plumbing; Timothy Good, second place, plumbing.
Kempsville High School: faculty adviser Carolyn Powell, finalist in the Adviser of the Year contest. Student winners: Debbie Elser, first place essay; Jeremy Costellano, third place and a $500 scholarship to Johnson & Wales University, culinary arts; and Sheryl Losick and Carrie Barlow, fourth place, outstanding character. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTTT
ABOVE: David Sears, of the Career Development Center in Virginia
Beach, checks paperwork while competing in air-cooled, gasoline
engine repair.
LEFT: Jeff Sadler, of the Virginia Beach Vocational-Technical
Center, builds a wall during the brick masonry competition.
Evan Thiele, of Virginia Beach Vocational-Technical Center, drills a
hole through a stud in the residential wiring competition.
Philip Tinaro of Norfolk Technical Center, drills in a joint during
the wall-building competition. From auto service to robotics, the 56
skill contests pitted students against the clock.
Vickie Campbell, of the Tazewell County Vocational Center, works on
the latest ``do'' during the hairstyling competition.
by CNB