LAKE COUNTY ? Cameron Cude, 18, of Cobb likes to see a finished project, knowing what it was before.
After winning a bronze medal in the national SkillsUSA competition in June he”s seen his handwriting, ironing abilities and interview skills improve.
Cude competed in the employment application category of the contest based on skills learned at school. He won two regional gold medals, a state gold and a bronze at nationals in Kansas City, Mo. He was just four points away from winning the No. 1 spot, he said.
In the employment category, Cude had to fill out a job application, go through an interview with one or more judges and create a portfolio, he said. Cude wants to be an electrician, so his portfolio and some interview questions were tailored to his career choice.
Cude had to dress in a red blazer, a button-up shirt with a tie and slacks for the competition. Not only did Cude have to practice interviewing and filling out an application clearly enough to read, but he had to iron.
Cude”s mom, Tami, said she didn”t think he had ironed before, instead he learned from watching his parents.
“He called us from Kansas City to see what he should set the iron to,” she said.
Tami Cude watched the closing ceremony live on the Internet when her son won the award, she said.
“We are so proud of him,” she said.
Cameron Cude”s adviser, Dan Renninger, recommended him for the competition in a parent-teacher conference with Cude”s dad, Bill.
Renninger is an information technology teacher and the SkillsUSA adviser at Middletown High School. He helped Cude because the now senior met the requirements and is a hard worker, he said.
“There”s a lot of kids who want to be a champion, there”s not a lot of kids who want to work to become a champion,” Renninger said.
Cude was the first to win a national medal during Renninger”s 10 years at the school.
He wants to win the gold, so starting in September he”s going to get back to work, Cude said.
Cude wanted to thank his parents, his advisers Bonnie Albertson, Jim Marschall, his teacher, Ms. Klein, and his boss, David Rogers.
Cude has two jobs and hopes to become an electrician for Coastal Mountain Electric in Lower Lake, where he does odd jobs and helps dig ditches for electrical work because he”s not licensed yet.
Cude helped rewire the new football scoreboard at Middletown High School last summer, he said.
“It felt good to see that,” he said. “People get to use it and 20 years down the line you don”t have to replace it.”
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
