Three Algonquin students to compete at Skills Canada National Competition
Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2018
Two of Algonquin’s gold-medal winners at Skills Ontario – the Horticulture and Landscape team of Thomas Hawley and Blaise Mombourquette, and Nick Denny in Auto Collision Repair – will compete at the Skills Canada National Competition in Edmonton this week on June 4 and 5.
Read myAC on Wednesday to learn the results of the competition.
Nick Denny won gold in Auto Collision Repair at Skills Ontario. That came as no surprise to Nick’s coach, Chris Denny (no relation).
“I’ve had the privilege to be a teacher and a coach to Nick Denny for the last three years and I’ve never seen anyone with the dedication and need for perfection,” he said. “He works tirelessly perfecting any new techniques introduced to the industry to stay above the cutting edge. He enters every challenge with the mind set that he has already won. When I was recruiting for this year’s contest the choice was easy. The man just wins. He works hard to perfect his craft he’s kind and confident. I truly feel the industry has a bright future with him at the forefront.”
In early May, 30 Algonquin College students travelled to Toronto to compete in the Skills Ontario competition, Canada’s largest skilled trade and technology competition. Eight medalswere won, including three gold medals
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Christina Khenmanisoth also won gold in Restaurant Service in the provincial competition. She trained for months with her coach to improve her craft and perfect her technique in areas such as napkin folds, wine identification, and the French style ‘Banana Flambe’ desert. The only reason she isn’t in Edmonton is because there are not enough qualified competitors across Canada to field that event at a national level. That’s how talented she is. Here is what Khenmanisoth’s coach and past professor had to say about her work;
“There are three elements needed in order for a competitor to win this competition,” said her coach Enrico DeFrancesco. “The first is ‘passion’ — passion for the industry and Christina radiates passion for the hospitality industry. The second is ‘dedication.’ Practice started back in February every week and finished with five full days the week prior to the competition. Christina only missed one practice day and that was because she was fighting bronchitis and the antibiotics wore her down physically. You must appreciate that she took part in this training while attending a full coarse load in the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism program and working part time to help pay for her studies. The last and most important element is ‘determination.’ There are not too many students who are willing to challenge themselves to compete at this level. Christina wants to challenge herself and test her knowledge and skills. This is why Christina is worth the weight in gold and why she achieved top score in [the Ontario] competition.”
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