Matthew Kuznicki, a senior at Lehighton High School and a student in the Precision Machine Technology Department at the Carbon Career & Technical Institute, Jim Thorpe, won gold at the SkillsUSA State Competition.

The event was held April 6 to 8 at the Hershey Lodge & Conference Center.

Kuznicki attended the CCTI Joint Operating Committee meeting Thursday.

Kevin Kuehner, SkillsUSA Major Advisor and head of the Precision Machine Technology Dept. at CCTI, introduced Kuznicki.

Kuehner said. “We brought home two golds. We took 25 students; including a lot of younger students, so it was good for everybody.”

“I would like to thank the school for helping me find out about machining,” Kuznicki said. “I didn’t know what it was before I came here. Through that, I figured out what I was good at. I stayed after school to practice because I wanted to win. I’m also on co-op, and that helped me a lot to get real world experiences and knowledge, to find out the things you don’t learn in school because there are some things you just can’t teach. It’s more practical to get hands on experience. I found tips and tricks and other ways to make that process better, to improve my skills, and to teach other people.”

Kuznicki won gold in the CNC Turning Specialist competition which was held at the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster. He will now advance to the National Leadership & Skills Conference, a showcase of career and technical education students to be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, June 20-24.

Later in the meeting, a motion was passed that will allow four students, including Kuznicki, to attend the SkillsUSA annual National Conference in Atlanta, chaperoned by Kevin Kuehner; Thomas Bartholomew, Welding Instructor/SkillsUSA Assistant Advisor; and Nicole DeVincenzo, Graphic Design Instructional Aide/SkillsUSA Chaperone at a cost of approximately $12,000 to cover registration, transportation, lodging, and meal expenses