WVHS senior wins first-place trophy in Skills USA competition

WARWICK - Warwick Valley High School senior Chris Mansfield, the son of local residents Mark and Mary Mansfield, recently won the New York State First Place Trophy for Technical Drafting in the annual SkillsUSA competition. Mansfield, who plans to attend college and study architecture in the fall, will now be eligible to participate in the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City in June. The competitions are set up and judged by industry representatives. The SkillsUSA Championships is the organization’s showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. The Technical Drafting contest evaluates technical drafting skills and tools including computer assisted design (CAD) programs employed by professional architects. In addition to his regular high school studies, Mansfield is currently completing a two year Computer Assisted Design program offered at Orange/Ulster BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services.) “I’m very thankful for this award and grateful to my teacher Timothy Hoffman,” said Mansfield. “He encouraged me to participate in this competition.” Mansfield also is earning Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) credits that can be applied toward his architectural degree requirements. And the BOCES program will also help him create a design portfolio required by many architectural schools. Mansfield has also prepared for his future career by working for architectural firms during the summer.