On Thursday March 30, 2017 700 students from High School’s in Stanislaus County participated in the Occupational Olympics. Stanislaus Military Academy and Stanislaus Industrial Technology Institute were among the participating schools and brought their A game! The following students competed in the Robotics, Job Seeking Skills, and Pitsco Drag Racing contests: Edwin Magaña, Jaime Ibarra, Leonardo Gonzales, Justin Paine, Lucio Sanchez, Santiago Prado, Rosalinda Aleman, David Duke, Ethan Heldreth, Riley Spears, Alexa Gonzales, Giselle Valdivia, Karen Vargas, Alex Corbett, Jake Jones, & Logan Schell.

The Robotics contest consisted of building robots that could gather and maneuver balls to a designated area and the teams were scored based on the number of balls that they captured and shot in to a basket. SMA took 3 teams and they placed 1st, 2nd, and 9th.

The Job Seeking Skills contest requires that the competitors write a letter of introduction and a resume for a job of their choosing. Once they arrive at the contest they must fill out a job application and then get interviewed by a panel of judges. This year SITI and SMA had several students participate in this contest with Santiago Prado from SITI receiving 4th place overall.

Several of our students competed in the Pitsco Drag Racing contest. This contest consisted of building a small, wooden car with specific requirements. They then raced the cars and were scored on time and design. Lucio Sanchez from SMA placed in the top 8.

These contests are extremely competitive and so beneficial to our students. Students gain hands on experience as well as real life skills that will assist them in their future endeavors. Along with this, they gain confidence and a drive to succeed!

Special recognition:

Robotics

1st place team members: Logan Schell, Karen Vargas, & Riley Spears

2nd place team members: Giselle Valdivia, Alex Corbett, & Alexa Gonzales

9th place team members: David Duke, Jake Jones, & Ethan Heldreth

Job Seeking Skills

4th place – Santiago Prado

Pitsco Drag Racing

Placed in top 8 for design – Lucio Sanchez