Brewster Tech Student Wins Bronze Medal At SkillsUSA Competition

HARWICH – Cape Cod Regional Technical High School student Charles “Chaz” Thomas knows more about heating and cooling equipment than most students. He proved that when competing in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference competition in Atlanta earlier this month.

Thomas, a junior at Cape Tech, received the bronze medal in the HVAC-R competition, competing against 45 other students from around the country, according to Peggy Reilly, SkillsUSA Chapter Coordinator at Cape Tech. 

Thomas, a Brewster resident, has a special interest in mechanical engineering. “My dad has an engineering mindset and he taught me growing up,” he said. 

When entering Cape Tech, Thomas said he went through the 15 programs the school offers seeking one where he could exercise his engineering interest and creativity. HVAC and refrigeration lead teacher Sean Doyle caught his attention. 

 “There is no way I would have gone to states or nationals without Sean Doyle,” Thomas said. ”He provided serious education and gave me all the tools I needed. Without him there is no way I would have gone.”

The road to Atlanta was not an easy one. The first challenge was becoming one of the top two students in the Southeastern Massachusetts District based on a written test, and from there entering the state competition from which only the first place winner moved on to the national championship, said Doyle.

 As a sophomore, Thomas won the bronze medal in the state competition. This year he won the gold medal, proving himself one of the top HVAC-R students in the country.

 Thomas was joined by two additional Cape Tech students in Atlanta: Alex Wesp, a sophomore electrical student, and Daniel Handville, a junior carpentry student who participated in the SkillsUSA Construction Immersive Experience, touring major construction projects in the city. A scholarship for the trip was provided by Harbor Freight Tools in Hyannis.

The competition is primarily about diagnostics, Thomas said. Competitors are provided broken HVAC systems, furnaces, heat pumps and commercial refrigeration and given time to assess the conditions and determine the problem, he said. Each station is different and tests overall knowledge.

Doyle said students do not get any information relating to the types of equipment they will be assessing.

 “Chaz and I spent a lot of time after school preparing for nationals,” Doyle said. “Chaz has been a standout in this program and as a teacher, students like that don’t come by very often. It’s not often you get a national student in your program.”

Doyle said there was a Cape Tech student in 2021 or 2022 who won a silver medal at nationals in major appliance repair, a competition that no longer exists, and another in the early 2000s who won a medal for marine service. 

Thomas is ranked number five in his class academically and has set high expectations: he will be making visits to Harvard and MIT in the near future. He wants to study mechanical engineering. 

 “MIT is a goal for me,” Thomas said.

HVAC systems are potentially in his future, he said. He spends his summers working for Whiteley Plumbing and Heating in Chatham through the Cape Tech co-op program.

In his senior year at Cape Tech, he will be looking to return to Atlanta seeking gold.