By JEREMY APPEL on May 17, 2019.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Two Medicine Hat College students received medals for their performances in the recent Provincial Skills Canada Competition in Edmonton.
Alex Bowyer, a trades student, and Donovan Fode, who studies built environment engineering technology, each went home with a bronze medal.
Bowyer won in the steamfitter and pipefitter category, while Fode was successful in the architectural design event. Bowyer also won the Safety Award.
In the lead-up to the competition, Bowyer spent a lot of time on campus working on various skills and completing a mock project designed by instructors.
Although he felt well-prepared, he didn’t expect to win a medal.
“You go there and you want to win, you want to place, but you’re always a little bit surprised when it happens for real,” Bowyer told the News.
“When you’re driving up there, you think it’s going to happen but it doesn’t actually sink in until you hear your name announced.”
He is particularly proud of the Safety Award, which he said demonstrates the practicality of the skills he learned in school.
“Safety is obviously a very big part of the trade. Everywhere you go, they’re always going to preach that,” said Bowyer.
“The (instructors) at Medicine Hat College are really, really good at making sure you know how to do everything before you do it. They’re very, very hands-on with the learning,.”
Dennis Beaudoin, MHC’s dean of trades and technology, says “lots and lots of preparation” goes into sending students to provincials.
First, instructors track down students under the age of 21 who have “what it takes to compete at that level,” he said.
Once they’ve recruited students, they begin preparations.
“We go and mentor them and help them out so they can compete,” Beaudoin said. “The part that’s really hard to prepare students for is the actual venue, because you’re out in the open and typically they have about 6,000 come by a day.”
He said this can put a lot of pressure on young people.
“For us to have two finals with medals is pretty amazing, considering the size of our school,” said Beaudoin.
“The students put the time and effort to do that, and I can’t say congratulations enough and how proud I am of them.”