Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
The winner of the Michigan SkillsUSA automotive service competition is beginning to reap the rewards of his hard work. Calumet High School’s Zander Worm has received a scholarship and prize package after being the national winner of the TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Rock Awards. The applicant pool initially totaled over 400. He was one of ten finalists, and his victory was clinched thanks to online support from friends and the community.
Worm will get tuition assistance and a prize pack, including an iPad from Ford Motor Company. Worm is going to Michigan Tech in the fall for mechanical engineering. He hopes to one day be the team lead at General Motors working on a future iteration of the Chevrolet Corvette.
Worm will represent Michigan at the national level of the SkillsUSA competition next month. It will be conducted in a virtual format, meaning that he will compete for a Nashville, Tennessee judging panel via video without ever leaving the area. The full release from the Copper Country Intermediate School District’s Center for Technical Education is below.
***************************************
TechForce Foundation announced the 2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards Grand Prize Winner is Zander Worm, a Calumet high school senior and student in the Copper Country ISD Career & Technical Education in the Automotive Technology program. As a nonprofit dedicated to helping students achieve their professional dreams, TechForce created this prestigious award to honor our student technician community and recognize those who have a promising future and will shape the transportation industry.
Worm secured the largest number of votes and was named the Grand Prize Winner, earning a $1,000 TechForce Foundation tuition scholarship and $1,500 in prizes from TechForce sponsors including training and prizes from Advance Auto Parts, a Smart Parts Washer from CRC Industries, a gift card from AutoZone and an iPad Air from Ford Motor Company. In the fall he plans to attend Michigan Technological University where he will continue his goal of one day becoming the lead engineer for General Motors Corvette Division.
During the May 3-7, 2021 People’s Choice public voting, TechForce followers cast thousands of votes among 10 national Category Winners who were selected from more than 400 technician students by a panel of expert judges. This year’s nominees represented more than 75 unique schools in 39 states, including at least 32 high schools and 43 postsecondary schools.
Worm, a resident of Ahmeek, said, “This award is more of a community award and representation of the Copper Country Strong motto and how the community backs their own.” When asked about what he is looking forward to doing with the prizes that are coming his way from this honor he said, “It’s like everything else, I’m looking forward to building stuff, breaking stuff, then fixing it again to gain more practical experience. The tuition money will be well used to aid my hope of graduating debt free from college to start life and a career clean from debt.” In regards to his experience with the CCISD Career & Technical Education, he is appreciative for the opportunity that has been provided to him for two years in the program, “it’s more than bookwork, it’s the opportunity to gain a well-rounded experience.”
