Hope Lindsay built a computer and won Best in Show. (Contributed)
Hope Lindsay built a computer and won Best in Show.

Contributed

Computer Creations

May 23, 2022

Caleb Tippit (right) and Ben Marin (left) with the computer they built (Contributed)

Millions of people are connected throughout the world due to computers. The technology industry thrives off competition.

Now, with Career Education Centers throughout school districts, students, such as Hope Lindsay,  are able to build computers and compete against each other.

During the recent SkillsUSA Computer Maintenance Competition, students had the choice between building a business computer (which is operational) or a fantasy computer.

Lindsay built a “business” model of a computer.

“I just like the way it looks. Fantasy, you can be more creative with it, but it wouldn’t actually be a PC,” Lindsay said.

At the competition, Lindsay, along with other students left the computers overnight, and returned the next day to see the results from the judges. Lindsay woke up to good news that she won a gold medal.

“One of our other competitors called me at seven in the morning,” Lindsay said. “I was still in the hotel. And told me I won. So, it was pretty good, but I went back to bed.”

Lindsay’s teacher, David White, guided her throughout the process. Lindsay was the only one of his Computer Maintenance students to enter.

“She had to present her project at the district level where she received a blue ribbon and qualified for state,” White said.  “At state, she received a superior rating as well as Best of Show for her field.”

Computers are complicated to build. Not many people would be able to do what Lindsay did in the course of two weeks.

The hardest part, Lindsay said, was “the graphics card, because they’re so hard to get right now.” The easiest, she said, was the end.

While the competitors had the option to sell the computers they built, Lindsay is planning on buying hers.

Another student who won an award in the Computer Maintence category is Caleb Tippit, along with his partner Ben Marin from Old High. They received a gold medal in the team category by building a fantasy computer.

“I chose the fantasy build because the business build was already taken by Hope. So, we didn’t want to be actually competing, since we’re really good friends,” Tippit said.

Tippit started this project Sept. 13, but did not start to build until Nov. 18.

“We got the fish tank, the gravel and started to collect some of the computer pieces around that time,” Tippit said.

Tippit and Marin agreed they were an excellent team, having been friends since middle school. They both had an easy time collaborating and had a good work ethic that caused them to be able to work seamlessly together due to the bond of friendship they had.

“The beginning was really laid back. After was really stressful,” Tippit said. “We had to take apart the laptop. So when we get to the competition, we only had a set number of hours to set it up.”

Tippit and Marin had only hours to rebuild what took months to do. Luckily for them, they won with a Best in Show ribbon.

Winning is always fun, but in Tippit’s experience, the win also came with a “funny story.”

“I was going in to check, because their was a lot of kids going in. They didn’t want to be around their, but they let some 6-year-old kids in,” Tippit said. “So, I wanted to go in there and make sure it was still working. It was pretty far away and I don’t have good eyesight, all I see is our little dolphin was missing and I enraged.

“I was about to throw a fit. So, I ran over there to find our dolphin and I looked down and I see this big badge that says state winners and congratulations. I missed it at first because I was so worried about our dolphin.”

Lindsay and Tippit weren’t the only Rider winners at the SkillsUSA competition. Many other Rider students also were given an opportunity to display their skills from their classes at the CEC.

Electrical Construction Wiring- Braun Scott: gold

Plumbing- Gideon Perez: gold, Logan Contreras: silver

Welding- Jorge Barron: gold

Automotive Service Technology- Parker Jackson: gold

HTML/CSS Technical Test- Madalyn Grady: silver, Brianna Tolley: bronze

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Photo of Kylie Davenport
Kylie Davenport, Editor in Chief

Kylie Davenport is a senior at Rider High School and is the Chronicle's editor-in-chief. Going into her second year on staff, she is nervous but excited...

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