The Middle Bucks Institute of Technology automotive team of Patrick Gallelli, Council Rock South, and Conor McGlinchey, Central Bucks South, won first place in the Philadelphia Top Tech Challenge Competition, which was held on Friday, March 3.
The students received more than $285,000 in scholarships and tools for their first-place win.
When asked about the competition McGlinchey said, “This is a dream come true,” and Gallelli said, “I have been wanting to win this competition for my family, Mr. (Robert) Schwarz and myself.”
They also thanked Keystone Volvo and the Auto Dealerships Association of Greater Philadelphia for the opportunity to compete in the 30th Tech Competition and MBIT for giving them the skill set required to be successful in the automotive industry.
Auto technicians of the 21st century must have highly-polished math and computer skills in addition to mechanical aptitude. The competition focuses on all those skill sets.
The first part of the regional competition involved a 110-question written exam in December. The exam covered electric vehicle safety and the eight National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) areas of the automobile, which are engine repair, engine performance, electrical/electronic systems, brakes, heating and air conditioning, suspension and steering, manual drive train and axles, and automatic transmissions. There were approximately 80 students who took the written exam. The two highest-scoring students from the top 12 schools are those who qualified for the March 3rd hands-on competition.
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