Southwestern Community College (SWCC) students Fulton Abraham and Ty Marker of Osceola placed fifth and Dillon Bailey and Kyle Wynn of Creston placed eighth in the hands-on portion of the 2014 DMACC/IADA High School Automotive Skills Contest on Friday, December 12, 2014, at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny. This competition recognizes some of the best high school auto technicians in the state.
The SWCC students qualified for the statewide competition following a written exam administered in October 2014. The top scoring teams were then invited to Ankeny to participate in the hands-on competition.
During the hands-on portion of the competition, autos were "bugged" with identical problems. The students diagnosed the issues during a 90-minute contest.
Bailey, a senior, and Wynn, a junior, attend Creston High School. Abraham and Marker, both juniors, attend Clarke Community High School in Osceola. They are all taking courses through SWCC’s Tech Prep/Career Academy automotive program. These programs offer high school students opportunities to take career and technical-related coursework at the college thanks to a cooperative agreement between SWCC and their local high schools.
Steve Schmalzried, SWCC automotive repair technology instructor, accompanied the students to the competition.