For the first time ever, The Chantilly Academy will have students competing in the state level of the Skills USA competition in the fields of Auto Technology and Auto Collision.
It's only the Academy's second year of competition in these divisions. And representing it next month at states will be two 18-year-old students from Westfield High, seniors Chad Godfrey and Curtis Mason.
Both won gold medals, last month, at district level — Godfrey, in Auto Collision, and Mason, in Auto Technology. Godfrey's contest was held Feb. 12 at Wagonworks Collision Center in Alexandria, and Mason's was Feb. 5 at Hayfield High.
GODFREY HAD to do metal repair and refinishing on car fenders, welding, sanding and painting of fenders, parts identification and even estimating of the cost of the labor involved and the repair and replacement of parts. He was also interviewed by Wagonworks staff.
"For metal refinishing, there was a scratch we had to blend out by priming the fender with a spray, then sanding down the primer and blending in the color at that spot," he explained. "Then we had to clear-coat the entire fender to give it a shiny gloss. We had seven hours of competition, and that part took almost the whole time."
Since Godfrey's more into repairs and refinishing, he said that estimation — which was new to the students this year — was the hardest part of the contest. His favorite part was the welding.
"I finished first in welding, out of everyone there," he said. "Welding's my passion — the skill it takes to do it, and it's an interesting thing that you don't get to do that much."
Godfrey's currently an intern with Fairfax County's Department of Vehicle Services. He got that job through the Academy and, he said, "I'm hoping to continue on with that 'til I retire. But if I get scholarship money from states, I'll go to a trade school for Auto Body. I'm more of a hands-on person and don't want to be stuck behind a desk. And it's nice to be able to apply what I've learned in class."
Kenny Brown, who teaches Automotive Collision Servicing at The Chantilly Academy, describes Godfrey as a hard worker and one of his best students. "He enjoys working with tools and with his hands," said Brown. "And he's an all-around pleasant student to have in the program."
Brown teaches his students all the basic skills in this area, using an industry training and testing curriculum specially geared for the collision field. As a result, they're able to become entry-level helpers and further perfect their abilities on the job.
Then, he said, "They can become full-fledged technicians making $50,000 a year and up. I had one student who made $118,000 a year as a refinish technician."
He said the Skills USA competition "gives kids a chance to see what other schools and students are doing and how they measure up [against them]." As for how well Godfrey will do at states, said Brown, "With a little more coaching, he'll do great."
AT DISTRICTS, the hands-on portion of Mason's Auto Technology competition consisted of seven work stations with various diagnostic problems to solve and repairs to perform. On the written exam, he had to diagnose car problems and tell how to fix them.
He said the most difficult part was the preparation "because there are so many parts to a car and so many things that could go wrong that you have to study everything." So that's what he did, for two or three weeks before the contest, "to learn some new things and brush up on my skills."
Furthermore, said Mason, "When we're in the classroom, there's an electrical diagnostic board and you figure out problems through the board. But in the competition, it's just a car." He liked the written test best "because I could use my analytical skills, rather than just rely on what I know about cars."
He was surprised to win a gold medal because he didn't think he'd done that well. But when he received it, he said, "I felt like I actually accomplished something." Mason hopes to attend Virginia Tech and get a degree in mechanical engineering. And he'd like to stay in the automotive field, "but maybe on a research and development team somewhere."
He said his Automotive Services Technology instructor at The Chantilly Academy, Gray Brill, is "an awesome teacher and, through him, I've learned a lot."
Brill called Mason a "great student." He also noted that Mason's on the Ford AAA Troubleshooting Team, recently participated in its competition, too, and is awaiting the results. But besides all that, added Brill, "Curtis is a class act — a good person who applies himself and is an excellent technician."
AS FOR HIS class, Brill said, "Kids can come out of here with industry certification — which is sort of like a college degree because they become very marketable." He said one Academy student now works for Hendrick Motor Sports — which owns champion NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon's enterprise, and another works on Fairfax County's ambulances, fire trucks and police cars.
Overall, the sky's the limit for his graduates. He said they can pursue four-year college degrees, go into business for themselves or become owners or executives at dealerships. Said Brill: "These students can go as far as they want to go."