Recent graduates to take part in national skills competition

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Two recent Montana State University Billings graduates will be a part of a national competition on automotive and skills technology next week.  

Taylor Fouts and Josh Squires, both recent graduates at the MSU Billings College of Technology, will represent the university at the Skills USA national skills conference in Kansas City, Mo., on June 19. Fouts and Squires won their way to the national competition by taking top honors in the Montana State Skills Conference competition at MSU Northern in April.

The state competition drew more than 500 secondary students as well as students from two institutions of higher education (MSU Billings and MSU Northern). Participants engaged in many professional and skills events, ranging from job interview skills to welding to automotive problem-solving tests.

Fouts, an honor student from Turner who recently completed his degree in Automotive Technology at the MSU Billings COT, won the gold medal in the Automotive Service competition. Squires, a second-year honor student from Billings who earned his degree in Diesel Technology, was awarded first place medal in the Diesel Technology competition.

The Automotive Technology and Diesel Technology programs are two of the programs offered in the transportation sector of MSU Billings COT offerings. The automotive tech program offers both an associate of applied science degree and a certificate in automotive technology. The diesel tech program offers the same plans of study.

For more information on the transportation program at the MSU Billings College of Technology, call 247-3000 or go to www.msubillings.edu/cot/Programs.

PHOTO ABOVE: Taylor Fouts, of Turner, recently graduated from the MSU Billings College of Technololgy’s Automotive Technology program. He also won top honors in a statewide skills competition on automotive troubleshooting and qualified for a trip to the national competition next week in Kansas City, Mo.