SWIC Students Win at National Technical Education Competition
Two SWIC students take home medals from the Skills USA National Competition.
Education and training paid off for two Southwestern Illinois College (Belleville, IL) Technical Education students who won medals at the recent Skills USA National Competition. Cody Coffin won gold in precision machining technology and Mike Campbell won bronze in CNC turning at the June 29 competition in Kansas City, Mo. Both are from Collinsville.
“I am very proud of Cody and Mike for their success at last week’s national Skills USA competition,” SWIC Precision Machining Technology Program
coordinator Mark Bosworth said. “Both of them have put in a great deal of extra work over the past six months and they have been rewarded for their
efforts.”
SWIC is the only college to have two students place at the national level for PMT. “In just four years, the SWIC Precision Machining Technology program has won three medals at the national level and over 20 medals at the state level in SkillsUSA competitions,” Bosworth said. “This really puts SWIC’s Precision Machining Technology program on the map.”
SkillsUSA is a national technical education organization that partners educators, employers and students to teach greater skills to Americans, according to its website. Contestants compete at the local, state and national level. These two were among the SWIC first-place winners from the Illinois-state competition held in April.
“It was an incredible experience,” Coffin said. “It’s an honor to be representing SWIC, coming from a community college and getting to that point and winning at a national competition like that.”
Campbell shared his pride of winning. “I’d like to thank the teachers, the dean and the college for encouraging us to compete,” Campbell said. “The teachers came in off the clock sometimes and gave their free time to help us. Without them I don’t think I would have been up there.”
Both are pursuing an Associate in Applied Science in Precision Machining Technology.
