Manchester Senior Hopes For Gold As Classmates Graduate

Raymond Brache realizes he’s made a sacrifice.

“I’m sad I’m not there to walk with my classmates,” the Manchester Township High School senior said Tuesday morning by phone from Louisville, Ky., where he is competing in the Skills USA National Competition, where career and technical education students get to demonstrate their prowess in their chosen field of study.

“I feel sorry for my mom, too,” he said, “because she doesn’t get to see me graduate.”

“But I have to think about the bigger picture,” Brache said. That picture? “If I place in the top 10 there’s a good chunk of scholarship money available.”

Brache, a student at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School, is competing in the HVAC -- heating, ventilation and air conditioning -- category, where he won a gold medal at the state level. He is headed to the University of Northwestern Ohio to continue his education, so like so many, every scholarship dime counts.

More than 6,000 students –– all state contest winners –– are competing hands-on in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields this week, according to the Skills USA website. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts.

Contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry, according to the website.

Brache said the competition consists of three phases: a three-hour written test, which he took Tuesday; a seminar on Wednesday, and the hands-on competition, where he has to solve equipment problems using the skills he learned in vocational school.

“My first choice was construction trades,” Brache said, but his mother, Heidi, convinced him to try HVAC because his godfather works in the industry.

“As long as you’re paying attention, it’s not hard,” he said.

The seminar Wednesday is on brazing, which Brache said is a method of joining pipes similar to welding.

Thursday could bring any number of possibilities, he said. “They change it (the competition scenario) every year,” he said. ”It’s usually a mix of things.”

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy (to get to the national competition) but I’m glad I’m here,” Brache said.

(Photo courtesy of Dave McCloud)