Careerline Tech Center student teams finish top 10 in state competition

Mitchell Boatman, Holland Sentinel
·2 min read

HOLLAND  — A pair of student teams from the Careerline Tech Center, a service of the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, put forward strong performances at a recent state competition.

Two teams from the CTC’s Agricultural and Animal Science program finished in the top 10 at the Michigan Future Farmers of America Broiler Contest in Fowlerville in late October.

A pair of student teams from the Careerline Tech Center, a service of the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, put forward strong performances at a recent state competition.
A pair of student teams from the Careerline Tech Center, a service of the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, put forward strong performances at a recent state competition.

A team consisting of junior Carissa Lugo and senior Jennifer Lopez of West Ottawa, homeschool junior Alaina Somers and Grand Haven senior Keira Brown and junior Emily Swieter took eighth place in the competition.

A team featuring Zeeland junior Sarah DeBoer, Hamilton junior Jalisa Perisee, Grand Haven junior Kayla Klempel, Unity Christian junior Madeline Palen and Allendale junior Courtnie VanMalsen finished in tenth.

For the competition, FFA chapters around the state receive chicks from the same hatchery on the same day and raise them for five weeks. While working to raise the birds, students gain experience in all 11 growth factors, including feed, proper temperature and health status.

Following the competition, students toured Michigan State University’s Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, where they learned about daily operations of a dairy farm.

A handful of CTC teams and students were also recognized during the National FFA Convention and Expo in early November.

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Teams earned bronze emblems in Milk Quality and Products, Meats Evaluation and Technology and Poultry Evaluation, with team members earning emblems as well.

In Milk Quality and Products, Sage VanderWall earned silver, while Rylee Anderson, Tyler Nichols and Emma Henry earned bronze. For Meats Evaluation and Technology, Hannah Osterink, Delaney Sall, Lily Schepers and Haley Szendre were each awarded a bronze emblem.

Ayden Covey, Kylee Baar, Lucas Cronkright and Kilee Kleinheksel each earned bronze in the Poultry Evaluation category.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Careerline Tech Center student teams finish top 10 in state competition