{"id":16255,"date":"2015-06-08T13:41:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T17:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=16255"},"modified":"2015-06-08T13:41:38","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T17:41:38","slug":"tchs-student-wins-15k-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=16255","title":{"rendered":"TCHS student wins $15K scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gilberto-Correa\"<\/a>

Gilberto Correa placed first in the HVAC category at the Pennsylvania SkillsUSA competition in April. He will be attending the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky in June.<\/p><\/div>\n

DOWNINGTOWN \u2013 Technical College High School (TCHS) Pennock\u2019s Bridge Campus student Gilberto Correa didn\u2019t want to get his hopes up.<\/p>\n

As a first place finisher in the HVAC category at the SkillsUSA district 4\/5 competition held at Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School, he advanced to the Pennsylvania State Championships held in Hershey. After completing five separate HVAC related tasks during the state competition, Correa knew he did a good job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I came in last,\u201d he said. \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to be let down so I didn\u2019t get my hopes up. I really wasn\u2019t expecting to win!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But win he did. Correa competed against student from 11 districts around the state. As the first place finisher in the HVAC category, he was awarded a $15,000 scholarship for the University of Northwestern Ohio and a $2500 scholarship to Pennsylvania College of Technology. One of the things that attracted Correa to the HVAC program was the opportunity for career growth and stability. He thinks very practically about his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad works in hard labor and he doesn\u2019t want me to do the same thing,\u201d Correa explained. \u201cHe was really happy when he found out I won and received a scholarship. His advice was for me was to keep trying to become better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the scholarships, Correa was also given a Cobalt multi-drive wrench at the state contest. He plans to add the wrench to his collection of tools that he has purchased over his three years as an HVAC student at TCHS Pennock\u2019s Bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to have your own tools in the program,\u201d he explained. \u201cI just think it\u2019s important to get to know your tools and learn how to really use them to prepare for work outside of school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Correa is going to put his tools to work after graduation as he enters the workforce.\u00a0He plans to work for a year to gain some experience and then attend the University of Northwestern Ohio to obtain his associate\u2019s degree. At TCHS Pennock\u2019s Bridge he learned about wiring circuits, electrical systems, mechanical systems, plumbing and heating and refrigeration units. The HVAC classroom is a combination of book learning, lessons and applications. The students often apply the knowledge and skills they learn from the classroom immediately in the shop area. It\u2019s this knowledge and skills that helped Correa stand out and win at the SkillsUSA state contest and what will help him in the upcoming National Leadership and Skills Conference.<\/p>\n

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce and helps prepare students for future careers. \u201cParticipation in SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens,\u201d said Jim Brunken, a TCHS Pennock\u2019s Bridge instructor and SkillsUSA advisor. \u201cSkillsUSA improves the quality\u00a0of America\u2019s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.\u201d Ultimately, SkillsUSA is about teaching practical and transferrable skills to ensure that America has a skilled workforce.<\/p>\n

This year the National Conference will be held in Louisville, Kentucky June 22-26. Correa is the only student attending from TCHS Pennock\u2019s Bridge. \u00a0Kevin Fraumeni-Feaster and Kylie Monko from TCHS Brandywine will also be competing and Kaylee Tada will attend as the delegate elect to the SkillsUSA National Officer team.<\/p>\n

At the state level, the competition was Correa\u2019s favorite part. \u201cI didn\u2019t stress over it and I had fun. I also enjoyed meeting the other competitors and students from all over Pennsylvania,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m very excited about Nationals. I\u2019m going to a different place, a different state and I\u2019ll get to meet people from around the country!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DOWNINGTOWN \u2013 Technical College High School (TCHS) Pennock\u2019s Bridge Campus student Gilberto Correa didn\u2019t want to get his hopes up. As a first place finisher in the HVAC category at the SkillsUSA district 4\/5 competition held at Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School, he advanced to the Pennsylvania State Championships held in Hershey. After completing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[398,15,6285,6284,5526],"class_list":["post-16255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cciu","tag-chester-county","tag-pennocks-bridge","tag-tchs","tag-technical-college-high-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}