Raasch completes national skills competition

Brandon Raasch will enter his senior year this fall at Nodaway Valley High School having an experience in his back pocket that many haven’t gotten to experience.

Raasch, who is very interested in cars, attended the SkillsUSA Champions at Work competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I got a lot out of this and learned a lot. I was trying to learn a lot from it, advance myself and make a name for myself so that when I get out of high school and college so that people know I know what I’m doing,” Raasch said. “It was a lot of a learning experience. A resume builder, too.”

While he was there, Raasch embarked on several automotive refinishing technology competitions, which focuses on refinishing and restoring the body of a vehicle. One project was to paint an already primed panel. Others were to color match and identify colors on a piece. All of the work was done in a large convention center with each participant at a different station. Participants had 90 minutes to complete their work at each station.

Raasch reached the national level of the competition by taking college credits at Southwestern Community College during his high school school day. The class he was in is in the automotive refinishing area at SWCC with instructor Jeff Magneson.

A group of students from SWCC competed at the state level in April, and Raasch won the state competition. Other students from SWCC participating at nationals included another automotive refinisher, an electrician, a carpenter and an electrician.

Raasch became most interested in working on cars from purchasing a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro early on in the pandemic. Raasch plans to take some more college credit courses this school year, but this time in the auto mechanic area.

As for the SkillsUSA nationals, participating was a positive experience for Raasch.

“I’m glad I got to do it,” Raasch said. “There were quite a few kids who got to do the skills competition all throughout the U.S. but it’s not something everyone goes to. It’s hard to get to the national competition. It was a really good experience and I’m glad I got to go.”