Adam Niver (Newfane) and Aiden Torres (Lewiston-Porter) are excited to head out to the New York State SkillsUSA competition in Syracuse this month. The Niagara Career and Technical Education students are enrolled in Michelle LeFauve’s Web Development and Game Design program at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES site. “We had a lot of fun last year and even made it to the National competition, so we are looking forward to it,” says Aiden. “Now going as seniors, we know what to expect,” says Adam.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Their mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.
This year the team will be competing in the Interactive Application and Video Game Development contest as opposed to the Web Design competition. The competition is a two-person team event that tests technical knowledge and production skills, including critical thinking, creative problem solving, teamwork, interpersonal and visual communication, artistic design, and technical programming. Teams must produce an original prototype or sample of an interactive application or video game with at least one level and ten (10) minutes of interactive content. It must be created during the school year immediately preceding the competition deadline. “It’s almost like an elevator pitch,” explains Aidan. “We feel like we have a great design and game concept and we are looking forward to presenting it. We have to go into salesman mode.”
Looking back at taking the Web Development and Game Design program, both Aiden and Adam say it was a great move for both of them. “It really helped me to decide what college I wanted to go to,” says Aiden. “We toured Villa Maria College and I was able to explore their program and get financial aid because of my BOCES experience.” Adam says, “I have really enjoyed this class. It really helped me to get motivated and discover how much I enjoyed coding. This was a great artistic way to learn more. I will be attending RIT for Computer Science. Mrs. LeFauve is great. She is very understanding and treats us like a democracy where we have a say in things. She does a great job of getting everyone working and it is a nice experience.” Adam says he is grateful having her as a teacher because she is so knowledgeable about the field.
Best of luck to all our competitors heading to Syracuse April 23rd-25th!