CREDIT: FANSHAWE COLLEGE
Becky DeKleyn and Wesley Neil show off their gold.

A group of Fanshawe students recently returned from representing the school with distinction at the 2013 Ontario Trade Skills Competition (OTSC), in which students from all over the province converged in Waterloo to test their skills in carpentry, architecture and other technical fields.

Every year, the OTSC brings in nearly 2,000 of the most talented post-secondary students studying in the technical skilled trade fields to race against each other and the clock in order to complete a mystery objective within the technical specifications that are provided to the competitors moments before they begin. It is a challenge that tests not only a student's technical know-how, but also his or her ability to perform and adapt under pressure in order to meet highly specific goals.

The provincial competition serves as a chance for Fanshawe students and professors to show that they are the best the Ontario has to offer, and the school was represented splendidly this year, with gold medals won by Becky DeKleyn in architectural technology and Wesley Neil in carpentry apprentice, in addition to a bronze medal won by Brad Masciotra, a cook's apprentice student.

For DeKleyn, winning the gold medal was a special achievement, as it was her second gold-medal finish in two years and completed a hat-trick for Fanshawe College's Architectural Design students. “The Architectural team is very proud of Becky. It's difficult enough to win one competition, let alone two back-to-back,” said Gary Gerard, coordinator of Fanshawe's Architectural Technology program. “She is a strong student and demands a lot of herself. We are so excited her hard work and training paid off.”

This year she was the only female competitor in her field, topping a group of seven other students from colleges around the province. “I'll admit, it is pretty nice,” DeKleyn said proudly when asked if she enjoys being a recognized competitor in a traditionally male-dominated field. “Women don't get a ton of recognition in architecture and skilled trades, so it's a good feeling to win.” DeKleyn and her opponents had six hours to design a building from scratch in the competition. “It's very difficult working under such pressure, as the parameters of the design have to be very specific, and the buildings were required to be able to withstand a variety of physical and weather-related issues.”

She credited the Architectural Technology program at Fanshawe as the reason for her successes. “It's all down the program here at Fanshawe; our professors teach us to be technologists and not purely technicians, meaning we learn more than just how a building withstands high winds or snow, but why as well.”

Both DeKleyn and Neil are now preparing for the national competition, which will be held in the first week of June in Vancouver. Neil, whose constructed wishing well won him not only the gold medal in his field, but the distinction of having the highest score among post-secondary students, can't wait for the competition to get under way. “It's a really fantastic opportunity and to be a competitor looks great on a resume,” he said.

Until that time, however, both students can be found in the workshops around campus, working alongside their instructors to bring Fanshawe even more future recognition.