Students can win up to 12 tuition credits equaling $1,008 at the Clackamas Regional Skills Competition to be held on Feb. 26. Prizes will be given to the first, second and third place winners in each category, who will receive the tuition waivers from CCC.

“This competition gives opportunity and the chance to win a tuition waiver to students participating. Those are huge benefits,” Sandi Yamauchi, student services secretary, said.

This is the 37th year that the community college has hosted the competition. WLHS has participated in the competition for many years.

“Our strongest subject is math,” Yamauchi said. She expects WLHS teams to do very well this year. Other subjects of interest include journalism, art, biology, geology, graphic design, theater arts, and video designs.

“This competition gives students the opportunity to display real-life skills that will help them later in life,” says Yamauchi. “They will come out more experienced than before.”

Each subject entails a different task. For example, in the journalism competition, students are given a subject and have approximately three hours to interview experts and contacts, write the article, and turn it into the judges.

In other subjects, students will be given tasks like creating a presentation about careers in business, or putting together a computer from its components.

In the visual art competition, students will be given a limited amount of materials and a “conceptual idea.” Each student will have an hour and 45 minutes to complete the piece. They will be displayed at the Art Center, and will be judged by by teachers from the Clackamas Community College art department.

Other non-competition activities at the event include a campus tour, placement test, and an opportunity to take a pre-test for a National Career Readiness Certificate. Even a leadership contest will be held, where teams must assemble a lego structure by working together.

“This competition gives students the opportunity to display real-life skills that will help them later in life,” Yamauchi said. “They will come out more experienced than before.”

To sign up, students need to contact Sandi Yamauchi. It takes place on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.