SkillsUSA is an organization, founded in 1965, set up to embrace and bring awareness to the skilled trade careers and vocations. There are competitions for all sorts of different trades such as carpentry, culinary arts, diesel equipment technology, and automotive service technology just to name a few. 

 

Sam Peterson of Clear Lake competed in the Automotive Service Technology Postsecondary competition. He came home a national champion.

 

At nationals, there are 12 different hands-on stations along with a 100 question written test. Individuals are given 20 minutes to complete each of the hands-on stations and an hour to complete the written test. The school level consisted of 14 competitors, whereas the state level had about 20 and the national level had 40.

 

The competition really consists of three major parts. First, there is a local competition held at the school level (St. Cloud Technical Community College) which lasts one day. Classes are cancelled on the day of the event and the shop is used only for the competition. From there, the top two students at the school move on to the second level, the state competition. 

 

This year the state competition was held at South Central College in Mankato, Minnesota. From this state competition, the top three students in the state are awarded medals; gold, silver and bronze. Only the gold medal winners from each state move onto the national level competition held in Louisville, KY. There, the competition, along with opening and closing ceremonies, orientation and activities lasts a whole week (June 24-30). 

 

Sam learned most of the basics about car repair at a young age from his father, who was a mechanic. He remembers how his dad used to bring home old lawnmower engines and how he was more intrigued by playing with those engines than with toys and games. Sam would go to the shop they had in their home and take the engines apart! It was one of his favorite activities to pull apart objects and see how they worked.

 

“As I got older, small electric motors and lawn mower engines weren’t really doing it for me anymore. I wanted to take apart bigger, more complex things! And also, I wanted to start taking things apart to see if I could get them working again. Little did I know, that was the beginning of what would become my career and future in the auto repair industry,” said Sam. 

 

When Sam was in high school, one of his first major projects was a 1940 Farmall B tractor that he bought to restore. He completely rebuilt the tractor from the ground up, with his dad’s help. After realizing cars were more complex than old tractors, he decided to pursue a career in auto repair. He then applied to get into the two year automotive program at SCTCC and was accepted. This is where I worked at building my skills working on cars and trucks rather than on tractors and lawn mowers. 

 

Sam said he was shocked when they announced that he had won the national championship. When he had finished the competition, he had a good feeling that he had placed in the top 10 but never imagined he would be the winner. 

 

“When they called my name for the gold medal at the awards ceremony, I was flooded with emotions. Shock, happiness, excitement, and disbelief come to mind when I think about it,” shared Sam.

 

Other people who have helped Sam develop his skills are his instructors from the automotive program: Jim, Byron, Tom, Dwayne, and Alex. They push Sam to challenge himself and continue to learn new things. Additionally, his coworkers, friends and family have supported him in his decisions to pursue repair as a long term career. Sam is very thankful to have them all by his side to make his accomplishments possible.

 

Last May, Sam Peterson graduated from St. Cloud Tech Community College (STCC) with a degree as an automotive service technician. Currently, he is working full time at Mikes’ Repair, a small auto repair shop in East St. Cloud. He also works part time at Auto Value Parts stores. Sam will be returning to SCTCC this fall to finish his degree in business management. One day he hopes to open his own auto repair center.