Black Gold student strikes gold at Skills Canada Nationals
Calmar Secondary Collegiate School student Adam Peterson struck gold once again at the National Skills Canada Competition.
Peterson has earned first place in the Precision Machining section, following up on another gold-medal win when he competed in the Nationals two years ago.
The national competition brought together top skilled trades students from across Canada. Competitors were challenged to manufacture complex parts under tight time limits while adapting to unfamiliar equipment and unexpected problems.
Peterson remarks that the competition tested him in ways he did not expect.
“The most unexpected part of the competition was that our lathes didn't have a taper attachment installed,” he says. “This made efficiently removing material and leaving a clean, shiny surface finish extremely difficult due to a time constraint.”
Peterson also faced setbacks during the event. At one point, a measurement error while machining internal threads cost him valuable time.
“I decided to forget about the mistake and focus on the next thing,” he says.
That ability to adapt proved critical throughout the competition. When he discovered the provided stock material was longer than expected and a needed tool was unavailable, Peterson quickly adjusted his process to keep moving forward.
The experience also gave him an opportunity to learn from competitors from across the country.
“Each one had a different idea for their procedure,” he said. “After talking to most of them, I was able to create my own procedure that worked best for me.”
Peterson said one of his proudest moments came from overcoming mistakes rather than avoiding them.
“The biggest thing I proved to myself was that no matter how hard you train, you can still mess something up,” he said. “The best thing you can do is realize you are human and do your best to fix it.”
The gold medal marks another major achievement for Peterson and continues a tradition of excellence for CSCS's precision machining program.
"Congratulations to Adam on this tremendous achievement. To win gold at the national level - twice - is quite something! We are not surprised, knowing his work ethic and skill. We are excited to see where Adam takes his tremendous talent and have enjoyed watching him grow and being a part of his journey,” says Justin Klaassen, Principal, Calmar Secondary Collegiate School.
