News
Career & Technical Education Students Place First in Greater New York Automotive Dealers Association (GNYADA) 2012 Regional Automotive Competition
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| L to R Preston Kissinger and Tyler Filipowski with their instructor Matthew Dykes. |
Tyler Filipowski, a senior at Warwick Valley High School and Preston Kissinger, a senior at Valley Central High School, Automotive Technology students in the Transportation Careers Academy at CTEC, recently placed first in the 2012 Greater New York Automotive Dealers Association (GNYADA) Regional Automotive Competition. The competition is for high school seniors and took place on January 11 in Whitestone, New York. Tyler and Preston took top honors out of 15 teams competing in the day-long contest. They have now earned the right to move on and compete at the GNYADA State Competition to be held on February 14, 2012.
During the competition, workstations were set up using eight areas of ASE (Automotive Service Excellence). Students were tested on their current knowledge of such topics as basic electricity, tools and equipment identification, technical service information, cylinder head components, brake systems and tire service to name a few.
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| L to R Bill Ryan of Volvo Cars of North America, 1st place winner Tyler Filipowski, Instructor Matthew Dykes and Orlando Fernandes of Volvo Cars of North America stand in front of the 2012 S-60 Volvo. |
At the presentation/awards ceremony, through a blind selection of manufacturers, Tyler and Preston chose Volvo. Volvo Cars of North America, LLC provided a 2012 S-60 Volvo and diagnostic equipment to use to prepare for the New York State finals in February. On January 20, Service Training and Development Division representatives Bill Ryan - Manager/Technician Recruitment and Retention, and Orlando J. Fernandes - Service Training Instructor, delivered the vehicle to CTEC for Tyler and Preston to practice on for the next several weeks.
Matthew Dykes, the boys' Auto Technology Instructor, is thrilled for his students. He says, "Tyler and Preston are enthusiastic and excited to move to the next level of competition where they will test their skills against high school automotive students from across New York State. The opportunities are tremendous, not only for the Tyler and Preston, but for CTEC as well. The school whose students win the GNYADA State Competition will receive a new Infiniti automobile as part of the prizes."