CAT Pickering Grad is no. 1 in the state!

This year, Wesson, a 2009 graduate of the Center for Arts and Technology (CAT) Pickering Campus, has shown where passion, planning and hard work can take someone. In December, he won his school’s carpentry competition. This win allowed Wesson to represent CAT Pickering at the SkillsUSA district competition in February. At districts, Wesson was able to secure a first place finish against students from 14 other area technical schools. This win advanced him to the Pennsylvania State competition; where, once again, he beat out the competition earning him a berth in national competition, a $2,500 scholarship and the title “best in the state.”

Now at 18, Wesson is ranked number one in the state and 11th in the nation in the field of carpentry.

Although Wesson’s journey to nationals officially began in December 2008, unofficially he had been preparing for the competition since he was in 11 years old.

“I always thought carpentry was interesting,” said Wesson. “So, when I was in sixth grade, I took part in the [Chester County] intermediate unit’s summer career academy for carpentry and decided that I wanted to take carpentry classes at CAT Pickering once I got to high school.”

In ninth grade Wesson applied and was accepted to the school. Throughout his high school career, Wesson had summer jobs in the carpentry field. Then, during his senior year, he participated in the school’s cooperative education program working for 18th Century Restorations, Inc. in Pottstown. Wesson excelled on the job as well as in school.

“The students are graded by their employers during their co-op experience,” said Michael Bland, Wesson’s carpentry teacher. “You rarely see students receive anything higher than a 90% from but Brett received a 107%.”

At the SkillsUSA national competition in Kansas City, Missouri, Wesson once again displayed his skills and knowledge.

“The competition was very intense,” said CAT Pickering carpentry instructor Michael Bland. “Among other tasks, students had to create a structure with three wooden walls and one metal wall, install four rafters, install vinyl siding, and lay out a stair stringer.”

The high school level carpentry competition was six and a half hours long and also included a written test. Wesson competed against the champions from 44 other states. Despite the intensity of the competition, Wesson was prepared. When the sawdust settled, he proved once again that hard work and determination pay off. Wesson can now boast that he is ranked 11th in the country.

Wesson credits much of his success to his career training at school: “Being a student at CAT Pickering taught me what I needed to know to perform well during my co-op experience and summer jobs,” said Wesson.

Wesson will be continuing carpentry into the foreseeable future. This September, he will be studying carpentry technology at the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

In addition, to Wesson’s achievements this year, many other students at the Center for Arts & Technology and the Chester County Technical College High School have excelled in state and local competitions. For example:

• An impressive 44 students from the Center for Arts & Technology Brandywine and Pickering Campuses placed in the SkillsUSA District competition in 2009, capturing 14 first, 16 second and 13 third places finishes. First place finishers who advanced to the State competition from CAT Pickering included: Brett Wesson, Aneteo Zununllair, Justin Adams and Troy Cronce. First place winners from CAT Brandywine included: Cassie Pate, Rebecca Clark, Chad Constable, Johnathan McLean, John Reese, Alexander Rickards, Frankmena Smith, Will Supplee, Vanessa Torres, Nicholas Vico and Laura Trusila. At the SkillsUSA state competition, Cassie Pate and John Reese placed second, and Chad Constable placed third. Brett Wesson placed first.

• The Chester County Technical College High School was also well represented at the SkillsUSA district competition. Six students earned medals, including: Melanie Flores, first place; Veronica Horn, first place; Austin Gary, second place; Nick Panell, second place; Jasmin Connelly, third place; and Toby Kerr, third place.

• Jonathan Amodei, a ninth grade CAT Pickering student, was invited to the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference in Washington D.C., January 17-21, 2009.

• Brooke Himes, a senior in the Animal Science Technology Program at CAT Pickering, received the 2008 Montgomery County Outstanding 4H member award.

• Chester County Technical College High School students placed in the Future Business Leaders of America Regional Conference, including: Briana Rivera, first place; Casey Bye, second place; Jessica Matherly, fourth place; Ceyeissha McKim, fourth place; and, Mallory Lockhart, fifth place.

• CAT Pickering students Joe Smith and Julie Roberts placed second for their community service project, CAT Confronts E-Waste, at the Pennsylvania DECA state conference.

• CAT Brandywine Business Academy students Will Supplee and Frankmena Smith were elected to the 2008-09 Pennsylvania State DECA officer team. In addition, Frankmena placed first in the fashion modeling competition and Will placed first in sports entertainment marketing.

About the Center for Arts and Technology: The Center for Arts & Technology is a public, comprehensive career and technical high school serving students who reside in Chester County’s 12 public school districts. To learn more, please visit: www.catschools.org.

About SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives, working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. It is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupation. SkillsUSA was formerly known as VICA (the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America). For more information, please visit www.skillsusa.org.