Novitas Academy
Emmett, ID

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Student Becomes
North American Champion

Over the summer, one of our students had the opportunity to participate in the National SkillsUSA Additive Manufacturing Competition in Louisville, Kentucky and Chris brought home the GOLD!

The top 6,000 high school and college students were selected from a pool of 300, 000 intial contestants, and particapted in a week-long championship event that highlighted the capabilities of career and technical education students in their respective fields. SME created the additive manufacturing contest to attract students to the new and exciting emerging technologies and to introduce the tools involved. These technologies are very relevant to the industry and companies are looking for a workforce with additive manufacturing/3D printing experience and abilities. The competition helps contestants better understand additive manufacturing applications, and with the support of Stratasys the 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions company, students get hands-on experience using the latest 3D printing.

"The winners of this year's Additive Manufacturing competition represent some of the best and brightest at their schools," said Jeff Krause, CEO of SME. "Additive manufacturing/3D printing is growing rapidly, and the demand for talent in this field continues to outpace the availability of the workforce. Capturing the attention of high school students is key to securing a skilled workforce."

Twenty-two teams competed in this year's SkillsUSA Additive Manufacturing Competition and six teams walked away with gold, silver, and bronze medals for showcasing excellence in the field of digital and additive manufacturing. Prizes for the frontrunners include scholarships from the SME Education Foundation, a MakerBot Mini printer, 3D mouse, and SolidWorks 3D CAD design software. Novitas is proud to celebrate with Chris and his family in this monumental success story and cannot wait to see what lies ahead for him in the future! The possibilities are limitless! Congratulations Chris and keep up the good work.