After many long months of training,  Heritage High School’s SkillsUSA team was successful at the state competition. On February 22nd the team took the road to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The students were well prepared for this high pressure event, with approximately 500 students competing in about 64 occupational and leadership contests. Students from Heritage took part in the following divisions: technical drafting, architectural drafting display, mathematical applications, and the criminal justice quiz bowl. 

Heritage High School senior Emily Lin completed individually in mathematical applications and won first place. She also competed in the criminal justice quiz bowl. To prepare for the competition the students did practice problems, studied the books, and worked to sharpen their math knowledge. “For the architecture display we used pretty much the classroom time we had to spare on building a log cabin,” Couch Dodson, the drafting teacher, explained. 

Although this was a serious competition, the team still managed  to have a good time. Whether that was on the bus, at the hotel, or in between competing, the students were having a good time. Emily Lin said, “The entire experience was great. I didn’t know anyone that went on the trip, I enjoyed getting to know the people better.”

Going forward, the team hopes to place an architectural display. “Looking at the other contestants’ entries gives us an idea of what we should do next year.” Coach Dodson said. The team plans to keep practicing technical drafting and keeping their talents and memory fresh for next year.