Having spent the last few weeks fixing "all the computers (he) could get his hands on," Kalvin Soulsby felt pretty confident walking out of the Skills USA District 1 competition at the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County on Friday.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," he said of his event, which tasked him with fixing the hardware and software of a broken computer faster than students in other area high school and career technology centers.
"I don't want to be overly confident, but I think I won," he said.
The 17-year-old from Jessup was one of 350 students participating in the competition from high schools and career and technical schools from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wyoming and Wayne counties, said Jenine Ikeler, career resource coordinator for the CTC of Lackawanna County.
"The best student in the classroom now competes on the district level," Vincent Nallo, executive director of the CTC of Lackawanna County said of Friday's competition.
The students who won their trade events - from advertising design and architectural drafting to technical computer applications and welding - on Friday will now be able to compete on the state level, Mr. Nallo said.
"The students are able to show the skills they've acquired in their preferred trade area," he said.
Anthony Anzalone, 16, of North Pocono, made sure to practice answering the questions he would face Friday in the job interview event and donned a red blazer and black tie to appear fit for his hypothetical job, though he hoped the experience may carry over into real life soon enough.
"The practice of the interview is really helpful," he said.
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