Clemson student represents U.S. in international print competition

Published: February 5, 2013

Heather Ashe (right) with Chester County Career Center teacher Sherry Adams. image by: Clemson University

By Evan Lybrand

CLEMSON — Clemson University student Heather Ashe will represent the United States in the WorldSkills Print Media Technology competition in Leipzig, Germany, in July.

Ashe is a junior graphic communications major from Chester. She is a student in the Calhoun Honors College and is involved in Gamma Epsilon Tau graphic communications honor society, Golden Key international honor society and Phi Eta Sigma honor society. She has won three Printing Industries Association of the Carolinas awards.

Ashe was chosen to represent the U.S. by winning the high school bronze medal in the graphic communications competition during the SkillsUSA Championships in 2010 and the college/postsecondary silver medal in 2012. She has maintained an active membership with SkillsUSA since high school.

“I fell in love with graphic communications in high school while I was attending Chester County Career Center studying under Ms. Sherry Adams,” Ashe said. “I was incredibly excited and honored to be selected for the WorldSkills team and hope to make my country, university and family proud. This experience has been a huge opportunity for me to make contacts in my industry and has reaffirmed my resolve that I am definitely in the right field.”

Competitors must do prepress work, make a series of layout decisions about previously chosen design spreads and print a series of products on a digital printing press to specifications designated by professionals under a specific time limit. They then must cut, trim and bind their products as well as maintain the machinery and make a presentation to a panel of international judges.

The competition is held every two years and brings students from 53 member companies to compete in 45 different occupational skill areas for four days. Their work will be judged by leading professionals from the fields that are represented in the competition.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, instructors and business leaders whose goal is to ensure that America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA works with 320,000 schools, 1,100 businesses and 10.5 million people in the U.S.

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