For the first time ever, a team of Salt Lake Community
College aviation maintenance students, including three females, brought home a
first-place prize from the annual Aerospace Maintenance Competition, which this
year was held April 14-16 in Miami.
The prize is a big deal for Todd Baird, program coordinator
for SLCC’s aviation maintenance program. “We get national notoriety for our
students and their skills,” Baird said. “Even though we’re a community college,
we’re competing against four-year schools, private schools and other community
colleges. It’s nice to be in the conversation about schools to attend for
aviation maintenance. By winning this competition, we are definitely in that
conversation.”
Gina Gottfredson Kelly (l-r), Rozie Nelson, Rahcel Williams, Gary Driscoll, Scott Pugh and a Snap-on representative.
Assistant professor of aviation maintenance, Jamie Horning,
accompanied 10 students, all of whom raised their own money through SLCC’s
Aviation Maintenance Club. Divided into two teams, the prize-winning “yellow”
team consisted of Gary Driscoll, Gina Gottfredson Kelly, Rozie Nelson, Scott
Pugh and Rachel Williams. Teams compete at timed skills tests that include
safeguarding components of an airplane, repairing a cockpit window, removing
sealant from parts and troubleshooting instruments that measure air speed and
altitude. Those who finish the fastest and with the least amount of errors
emerge the winners.
“It says we are one of the top schools in the country. It
really makes us stand out in front of all the professionals,” Horning said.
“They did a great job. They worked their tails off to get where they got.” For
one of the skills tests that involved fabricating a new line for hydraulic
fluid and retesting the line, the college and university teams competed against
professionals in the aviation industry, the military and private maintenance
repair operations – and SLCC beat them all in a competition in which few
females participate. SLCC’s yellow team was the only one with three females.
“It’s pretty awesome, because there’s not many women
competing,” said Gottfredson Kelly. “We just put our all into it – 110
percent.” Her team practiced the skills they’d need every afternoon leading up
to the competition and every day during their spring break. She is pursuing an
associate degree for aviation maintenance technician and, because of the
competition, has already drawn interest from companies like UPS and FedEx.
“It’s been a man’s world, and women are realizing, ‘Hey, we can do it,’” she
said. “It’s becoming more and more prominent that women are seen that they can
do it, if not better.”
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