Eagle Point High School students to head to Atlanta, Georgia for national competition

EAGLE POINT, Ore. — Community members, students, and classic cars took over the parking lot at Eagle Point High School on Saturday to raise money for students who are headed to a national competition as a part of the Skills USA program.

The national nonprofit organization teaches students new skills and technical education, which can be used in their future careers and personal lives.

The Eagle Point High School Skills USA Advisor and teacher at the school, Daniel Langston, said three of the groups of students won the statewide competition and will be headed to Atlanta, Georgia.

"Eagle Point High School went for cake decorating, robotics, chapter display, fabrication." Rylie Fernandez, a junior at EPHS said.

Langston said the students have been working hard for the past five months. After months of preparing, the high school students took top place in the Robotics Urban Search and Rescue, Cake Decorating, and Chapter Display in the statewide competition.

Students Yesenia Avila and Lindsey Wargnier took first place in the Robotics Urban Search and Rescue competition.

“We are graded on an entry notebook, and then we have a written test and inspection where they oversee all the parts that we used to make sure they are legal,” Avila said.

Together, they were able to successfully build and use the machine on the course during the competition.

“It’s where you build, after you design of course, and build and code a robot to do a certain task,” Wargnier said. “We also have to be able to drive it ourselves, if Yesenia drives, I spot, and she cannot look at the course, only one of us can look at the course, and everything is judged."

Since the students must work in teams and rely on each other in order to succeed, they said the program has taught them several skills they have already begun using.

“It definitely strengthens our teamwork skills, our communication skills, and all of that,” Fernandez said.

Langston said the group will head to Atlanta, Georgia for the national competition on June 20.

The competitions on the national stage officially begin on June 21.