March 9, 2015 - UTI-Orlando Hosts Second Annual Top Tech Challenge
If you were faced with a faulty air-conditioning unit and a 10-minute time limit to diagnose the problem, what would you do?
This is just one of many scenarios that students faced at the second annual “Top Tech Challenge” at UTI-Orlando. The event allows high school students to flex their automotive skills and win up to $2,000 in scholarships from Universal Technical Institute.
The competition attracted 28 entrants from six Florida counties – nearly triple the participation from the last year. The winning team – from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Fla. – earned $1,000 each in scholarships to attend UTI, a custom
Snap-on® tool box and a $2,000 tool voucher for their school.
“We were glad to see so many students, both male and female, who were interested in learning what it takes to be a skilled technician,” said Steve McElfresh, president at UTI-Orlando. “STEM is a huge component for today’s worker, and it was amazing to see high school students exercise those skills.”
In addition to hands-on tests, students also participated in a written assessment that mirrored the Automotive Service Excellence exam, giving them a taste of the kind of information needed to acquire a certification.
Second place went to a team from Lyman High in Seminole County, which won a $1,500 tool voucher for their school.
Other participating schools included: Hardee High School (Hardee County), Heritage High School (Brevard County), Okeechobee High School (Okeechobee County), Satellite High School (Brevard County), Sebastian High School (Indian River High School) and Wildwood High School (Sumter County).
