‘Pretty cool’: KC grad takes first at Skills Conference in Atlanta | News, Sports, Jobs

PHOTO PROVIDED Sofia Dressler is pictured after receiving her gold medal, placing first in Related Technical Math, at the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

MILL HALL — 2024 Central Mountain High School graduate Sofia Dressler ended her time at Keystone Central with a bang after taking home first place in Related Technical Math at the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

The conference was held the final week of June and saw four total KCSD students make the trip south.

Dressler, who won the Pennsylvania State title in April, was ready to showcase her skills when she arrived at the conference.

Dressler explained the Related Technical Math competition is similar to a math test spanning a range of topics from Algebra 1 to Trigonometry.

“Topics are anything that have to do with a trade,” she explained. “Some that are electrical, mechanical engineering or even generally rates of work.”

Dressler was a member of the Drafting and Design CTC course taught by Fred Hoy.

Reflecting on her time at NLSC, Dressler said she found the national test not quite as daunting as the state level.

“The state test was probably harder than the national tests. It just depends on who makes them. They can vary between districts, states and nationals,” she said. “It’s kind of fun because you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Finishing her week at NLSC on stage with a gold medal wasn’t what Dressler expected, but she said it was very cool. Overall, Dressler beat out 37 other students from across the United States and its territories.

“It was pretty cool. I didn’t put any expectations on whether I would win or not. I wanted to go up there, but I wasn’t going to be too beat up about it if I didn’t,” she said. “The experiences at Skills National are so great, I wasn’t going to let the outcome ruin my time there.”

Dressler said she met a multitude of people from different areas and backgrounds, noting it was a fun experience to do so.

“I became friends with one of the kids who won the T-shirt design contest for Pennsylvania. And I talked to a guy on the bus who does photography and heard about his processes,” she said. “You get to just talk to people who have different experiences and still like the same things.”

A fun part of the week was attempting to collect a variety of state pins.

Dressler explained each participant is provided pins that are designed specifically for your home state.

“Everybody has state pins and it’s a great conversation starter. Everyone really gets into it,” she said. “You get a memento from a different state.”

In all, Dressler said she collected 20 pins which included a few from industries that presented their programs at the competition.

Prior to her national title, Dressler said she participated in SkillsUSA her junior year, taking second at the state level in the same category.

It isn’t entirely surprising that Dressler was able to clinch the top spot at NLSC.

Before graduating from CMHS she was already taking math courses at Commonwealth University-Lock Haven and has worked through Calculus 3 up to Number Theory.

“I think it’s fun because it’s like a puzzle,” she said. “You can be good at math and not at arithmetic because of the idea aspect — the connection between ideas and concepts.”

Currently, Dressler will attend Notre Dame University but hasn’t quite settled on her major.

“I’m kind of undecided on a major but I’m going in for general engineering,” she said. “I’m thinking about either double majoring with math or at least with a minor.”

Dressler encourages students at CMHS and KCSD to consider taking CTC classes.

“There’s 115 competitions (at NLSC). You have things from welding to computer programming, technical math to cosmetology and nail care,” she said. “It’s a great way to showcase your skills and meet people who do what you do and people with different backgrounds.”

SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students. It empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members.

SkillsUSA represents nearly 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers. SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide.