On Friday, Feb. 27, the 22nd Annual Greater Philadelphia Automotive Technology Competition took place at the Automotive Training Center in Warminster, PA. The Berks Career & Technology Center was honored to have 4 students compete in this prestigious event.
Prior to the competition, approximately 80 high school seniors from 18 career and technical programs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey took a challenging written exam to test their automotive technology knowledge and compete for an opportunity to represent their school at the 2015 Greater Philadelphia Automotive Technology Competition sponsored by the Automotive Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia (ADAGP). The top two students from the 12 highest-scoring schools advanced to the hands-on competition on February 27th.
The students completed a rigorous hands-on competition that lasted over 4 hours and tested their knowledge at 9 different workstations which focused on emissions, automotive fundamentals, diagnostics, information technology, communication, and other skill areas. In addition, the students performed a 60-minute, pre-delivery inspection on a previously-bugged new vehicle.
BCTC teams finished as follows in a field of 12 teams:
2nd Place Team – BCTC West Campus (Leesport); Team Sponsor – Tom Masano Ford; Shillington, PA
Timothy Kramer, grade 12, of Tulpehocken School District
Austen Sallada, grade 12, Governor Mifflin School District
7th Place Team – BCTC East Campus (Oley); Team Sponsor – Manderbach Ford; Temple, PA
Alex Musselman, grade 12, Exeter School District
Jordan Rhodes, grade 12, Boyertown School District
The BCTC West team of Timothy and Austen was led by the instructional team of Mr. Adam Hollinger, Mrs. Gayle Leinbach, and Mrs. Celina Donmoyer. The BCTC East Campus team of Alex & Jordan was instructed by Mr. John Deatrich and Mr. Keith Nichols.
As a result of their 2nd place win, Timothy and Austen will share $140,000 in scholarships, tools and equipment. Following their graduation in June, Timothy and Austen will both be furthering their education by attending the Automotive Training Center in Exton, PA on a full scholarship as a result of their 2nd place finish in the Philadelphia Automotive Technology competition.
As a result of their 7th place finish, Alex and Jordan also received scholarships. Alex is considering scholarship opportunities and also plans to enter the workforce following graduation. Jordan is currently participating in BCTC’s Co-Op program and is an Automotive Technician at Tri-County Toyota in Limerick, PA.
BCTC is very appreciative of the local companies that sponsor our students. The West Campus team was sponsored by Tom Masano Ford; Shillington, PA. The East Campus team was sponsored by Manderbach Ford; Temple, PA.