Wednesday, June 30, 2021
North Idaho College students who won medals in the 2021 SkillsUSA national championships pose for a photo with some of their instructors, at Parker Technical Education Center in Rathdrum. From left: Andy Rogge, KTEC collision repair instructor; Logan Farley, NIC autobody student and bronze medalist; Ashleigh Anderson, NIC auto refinishing student and gold medalist; and Cal DeHaas, NIC Autobody and Paint Technology Instructor.
A North Idaho College student is the nation’s No. 1 college-age auto refinisher.
Ashleigh Anderson, of Hayden, won the gold medal in automotive refinishing technology in the SkillsUSA National Championships. The national auto refinishing, collision repair and collision damage appraisal competitions were held virtually June 17. Anderson competed online from NIC’s Parker Technical Education Center in Rathdrum where the college’s Autobody and Paint Technology program is offered.
Anderson qualified for the national competition after winning the Idaho SkillsUSA Championship in April. The auto refinishing competition consisted of a live interview, resume, technical assessment test, and live application of basecoat and clearcoat paint refinish products.
“Ashleigh peaked at the right time for this event,” said NIC Collision Repair Instructor Cal DeHaas. “She has a way of channeling her nervous energy into incredible focus. She was on her A game on game day, for sure. I’m so proud of her.”
Another NIC standout at the SkillsUSA nationals was Logan Farley of Spirit Lake. Farley took third place, winning the bronze medal in the collision repair championship competition.
“What makes this special is that at NIC we are a nine-month program which is pretty rare. Most autobody programs take students two years to complete,” DeHaas said. “To perform this well at the national level speaks volumes for our program.”
Like Anderson, Farley qualified for the national competition after winning the Idaho SkillsUSA championship last April. The collision repair competition included a live interview, resume, technical assessment test, small dent repair, plastic repair, structural analysis, and welding.
“Logan benefited from two years of training with Andy Rogge in the KTEC (Kootenai Technical Education Campus, a high school located adjacent to the NIC Parker Technical Education Center) collision repair program,” DeHaas said. “He competed in high school and again in college, so I think he was less nervous. He performed consistently in each and every event.”
Prior to this year’s competition, NIC autobody and paint program students’ highest finishes in the SkillsUSA nationals were in 2013, when NIC students took second and eighth place.
“This was a truly historic day for our students,” DeHaas said.
For more information about NIC’s Autobody and Paint Technology program, visit nic.edu/ptec.