Tecumseh apprentice wins electric championship
Gabe Roberts is getting a free trip to Florida this spring.
Roberts, an employee at Deere Electric Inc. in Tecumseh and an electric apprentice at Monroe County Community College, won the regional electric trade apprentice craft championship, held recently at the main campus of Southeast Michigan Construction Academy (SEMCA) in Madison Heights.
Now, Roberts will advance to the Associated Builders and Contractors National Craft Convention, set for March in Kissimmee, Florida.
Roberts, of Monroe, is a year-three electrical apprentice at MCCC. This was his first time competing in the Michigan championship. He was one of 10 year-three and year-four apprentices from southeast Michigan who competed in the Nov. 19 event.
To be invited, SEMCA students completed a rigorous written exam. The top 10 were selected to compete. At the competition, students were given a timed challenge.
“Students were given blueprints for a complex electrical project to be completed in eight hours, all while under the watchful eye of SEMCA instructors who were judging the competition,” said John Manor, director of membership for Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Michigan. “They had a written test and a hands-on practical performance test. They did a mock-up of a room with switches and lights and had to wire it to an electric box.”
Roberts is pleased with the outcome.
“It is such an honor to have won and to have my parents, fiancee and kids here to see it,” Roberts said. “Working on this project was one thing, but factor in the time constraints and the judges circling around you, just adds to the pressure, but it certainly made me want to work that much harder to impress everyone in that shop.”
John Danic, event coordinator and SEMCA instructor, said typically just a few competitors complete their projects. This year, five finished.
“I am amazed at the dedication displayed by our students here today,” Danic said. “These guys have been working hard, and I’m so glad to see we have five who finished this year.”
Marissa Downs, the director of education for SEMCA, said that this competition shows the kind of hard work students put in to make a successful career in the trades.
“I am so proud of each of the participants here today,” Downs said. “No matter if they finished or not, they pushed themselves way out of their comfort zones and learned something about themselves.”
As the champion, Roberts earned a spot in the national competition.
“My boss told me that if I won, he’s packing up and heading to Florida with me to cheer me on,” Roberts said. “So that kind of adds to the pressure, but I’m up for the challenge.”
“We ask our Associated Builders and Contractors community to wish Gabe well as he heads to Kissimmee, Florida, in March to compete at the ABC National Convention,” Manor said.
SEMCA is currently enrolling for the electrical program at its Monroe location. Classes for the winter semester start Jan. 3 at Monroe County Community College. For an application, visit www.semcaschool.org.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Tecumseh apprentice wins electric championship
