Conestoga news

May 26, 2006 10:00 AM

Conestoga Students Win National Skills Medals

Aaron Engel

Two of three Conestoga entrants in the 12th Canadian Skills Competition are coming home from the Halifax event with medals that testify to their technical skills and problem-solving abilities.

The three, all of whom had won gold medals at the beginning of May in the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) that was held at RIM Park in Waterloo, were part of the Team Ontario delegation to the May 23-26 national event in Nova Scotia.

Conestoga's medal winners are: Aaron Engel of Woodstock, who earned a post-secondary silver medal in the architectural computer-aided design drafting event, and Brian Pinnell of Kitchener, who also won a post-secondary silver medal in electronics.

The other Conestoga participant was Andrew St. Cyr of Waterloo, in the welding competition.

Skills Canada is a voluntary association of educators, business and industrial leaders, and government representatives which aims to promote the value and importance of technical careers and education to young Canadians.

In 15 years of OTSC involvement, Conestoga students have now garnered a grand total of 138 medals. This year's result consists of three gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

The OTSC event, sponsored by Skills Canada - Ontario, took place in Waterloo on May 1-2 and involved more than 1,000 secondary and post-secondary participants in more than 40 competition categories, while attracting nearly 10,000 visitors.

Brian Pinnell

The gold medal winners are:
• Aaron Engel of Woodstock, in the architectural computer-aided design drafting event;
• Brian Pinnell of Kitchener, in the electronics competition and
• Andrew St. Cyr of Waterloo, in the welding category.

The silver medal winners are:
• Gregory Dineen of Kenilworth, in the mechanical computer-aided design drafting event;
• Walter Ottiger of Rodney, in cabinetmaking;
• Jamie Perrault of Elmira, in the industrial wiring competition and
• John Vanderwoerd of Guelph, in architectural computer-aided design drafting.

Winning bronze medals are:
• Adam Bridgman of Kitchener, in mechanical computer-aided design drafting;
• Cameron Ewart of Dutton, in the industrial mechanic millwright event and
• Dawid Robczuk of Kitchener, in the electronics event.

Skills Canada is a voluntary association of educators, business and industrial leaders, and government representatives which aims to promote the value and importance of technical careers and education to young Canadians.