Senior awarded scholarships

Harlem High School senior Justin Youngblood, who plans to pursue studies in the automotive field, will have plenty of options after he graduates this weekend.

//

He received a $25,000 scholarship to attend any of the seven WyoTech campuses in the United States.

Justin, 17, also received a $10,000 scholarship to attend any of the 10 Universal Technical Institute campuses nationwide.

He won the UTI scholarship, along with a gold medal, when he took first place in the Automotive Electrical/Ignition Systems category at the SkillsUSA competition in Duluth in April.

SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.

The organization formerly was known as Vocational Industry Clubs of America, or VICA.

Justin, one of 10 competitors, garnered the top spot by earning the highest score on a written exam.

"I knew some of the stuff, but I didn't know some of the stuff. I just did my best on it. I tried as hard as I could," he said.

Justin is a four-year transportation class student at Harlem High.

"I always helped my dad at home working on cars. I was always kind of interested in it," he said.

His teacher, Nick Hayes, said Justin is Harlem's first state champion in an automotive competition.

This year's class also produced two regional contest winners.

"I'm just so proud of all of these kids," Hayes said. "I just give them the opportunity, and what they do with it is really up to them."