WESTFIELD – In his second year competing at the state SkillsUSA competition hosted by Blackstone Valley Technical Academy in Marlboro, Westfield Technical Academy senior Daniel (“Dan”) Shaw of Southwick won gold in Industrial Motor Control. His gold medal also earns him the right to compete in the National SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Kentucky from June 25-29.
WTA Electrical Wiring instructor Chris Brenda and state gold medal winner Daniel Shaw. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Shaw said the state competition ran from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. He competed against 16 total students from vocational schools across Mass. in a hands-on project for the second year in a row.
“Last year it caught me off guard,” he said, explaining that he had to wire a home water heater, something he hadn’t yet done. “I panicked,” he said.
This year, Shaw said the project was something he had experience in, “two stop-start controllers and a jog station, for running a stop light.” Although he wasn’t the first to finish the project, he received the gold medal for his work. SkillsUSA advisor Maureen Baillargeon said some students were teasing him, because one other person finished ahead of him. “Speed isn’t accuracy,” Baillargeon said. “Dan finished with ten minutes to spare.”
Dan Shaw working on his project at the state competition in April. (Photo submitted)
“I did it for the resume and for the experience,” Shaw said, adding that parts of it were uncomfortable for him. “People watching me, eyes glued on,” he said. Along with his gold medal, he received a Milwaukee Drill, a gift certificate from Iron Age Boots, and $2,000 towards tuition at the New England Institute of Technology.
However, Shaw said that Industrial Technical Services in Westfield, where he is currently working in a co-op (cooperative education), has offered him a job which he plans to take when he graduates, as he continues to work towards his journeyman’s license as an electrician. He will leave school with 2,000 work hours, plus his summer jobs, towards the 8,000 required for the license; and 300 classroom hours towards the 600 required.
“Once I get my license, I’m going to get paid a lot for staying in the field,” Shaw said, adding that he might take a class on PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or robotics at Springfield Technical Community College while working.
Shaw with SkillsUSA Advisor Maureen Baillargeon. (Photo by Amy Porter)
“The nice thing is with a career technical education, you don’t have to go to post-secondary education,” said Baillargeon, who is the lead teacher in Allied Health, adding. “We give you that training that they would provide for you.”
Shaw’s dad, John Shaw is also an electrical engineer, and currently plant engineering manager at Calloway Golf Products in Chicopee. He is also planning to accompany Dan to the national competition along with Baillargeon, who is making her second trip to Kentucky.
“He’s very proud of his son,” Baillargeon said. She said the school has already raised the money for the trip to nationals, thanks to the generosity of the Parent Volunteer Organization (PVO) which matched donations, and to a gift of $1,500 from WTA Advisory Board chair Edward Watson. She said they have also applied for a $1,000 travel scholarship from television’s Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs,” one of SkillsUSA’s national sponsors.
This is also the third gold medal in a row for the Electrical Wiring shop, and for teacher Gary Martineau and Chris Benda, who teaches Industrial Motor Control to juniors. The last two years, Christian Verdon (WTA 2017) won gold in the same category in the states, and went to the national finals. Last year, Verdon won bronze at nationals, placing third in the nation, Martineau said.
“It’s my main curriculum: AC theory, relays and motor control,” said Benda, who graduated from Westfield Tech himself in 1999. He said he worked in the field for ten years, before returning to teach nine years ago. He said the Electrical Wiring shop is fully enrolled, with 54 total students, grades 9-12.
“Dan’s been amazing from day one in the shop in ninth grade. We knew he would do great things,” Benda said.
Vitaliy Nazarets won silver in Carpentry at the state competition in April. (Photo submitted)
Benda said this year, the national competition is providing most of the tools. “Last year, Christian had to bring everything,” he said. Martineau said that Shaw was close behind Verdon in last year’s competitions. “We have high expectations for this one,” he said, nodding to Shaw and adding, “As long as he keeps his composure.”
Shaw, who will graduate on June 7, hopes to speak to Verdon before the national competition, and also plans to go online and find out what projects other states used in their finals.
“No matter what happens, it’s a good accomplishment,” Baillargeon said.
Angela Shevchenko, Donna Shytba, Hannah Massoni, and Tosha Merenkov won a team bronze medal in Entrepreneurship this year. (Photo submitted)
Other Westfield Tech students medaling in the state finals held on April 26-28 in Marlboro included Vitaliy Nazarets, who won a silver medal in Carpentry; and Angela Shevchenko, Donna Shytba, Hannah Massoni, and Tosha Merenkov, who won a team bronze medal in Entrepreneurship.
Westfield Tech sent 23 students to the state competition, where they competed in their technical fields of study against 50 career technical high schools from across the Commonwealth.
