With one gold medal under his belt, University of the Fraser Valley electrical wiring student Morgan Cox is heading to Quebec with the hopes of mining more gold.
Cox, along with several UFV trades students, won top honours at the recent Skills B.C. competition — an annual event where trades and technology students are tested in timed competitions, putting their skills to practical use. Cox,who grew up in Hope, won gold in the post-secondary electrical wiring competition
UFV’s Dean of Trades and Technology Harv McCullough says that Skills B.C. is an important, final test for the trades students as they complete their school year. At the April event, there were more than 330 students from all over the province who participated in 40 different categories. To compete at Skills B.C., all students had to win at earlier regional competitions.
“We are proud of all our students and their accomplishments,” says McCullough. “Winning medals at the Skills B.C. competition shows that our students have learned well and are ready to work in their chosen industry.”
For Cox, who has a couple of years of work experience under his belt already, completing UFV’s Electrical Wiring certificate program is a measured step in a carefully thought-out career plan.
“I like the electrical trade and it can lead to a steady job, so I thought I might as well go and get my red seal and get something official under my belt,” he says.
Cox, was homeschooled until Grade 10, attended Hope Secondary School, and then transferred to Sardis Secondary where he graduated in 2005. He spent two years conducting missionary work in Argentina, then came home and started working with a local electrical contractor.
He now lives in Chilliwack and is just completing his first year of a four-year apprenticeship program, but says he will challenge his second year because of his work experience, and hopes to do his third and fourth year in one combined school year.
The ambitious student has no plans to stop there. He hopes one day to work as a physicist and expects he will return to UFV after a few years of working to earn a physics degree.
“I realized in my class that the things that really interest me the most have to do with the molecular makeup of objects. I can see myself doing electrical work all my life and being happy, but I’m also thinking there is so much more to explore and learn about, and I like the whole area of quantum physics.”
His electrical wiring instructor Rod McLeod is not surprised Cox has big goals. He describes him as a go-getter and is sure he will do well, whatever career he eventually selects.
“It’s not an easy competition, as the whole idea of the Skills B.C. is to test the students and to see exactly what they can do,” he explains. “B.C. generally does well in these competitions because we train our students extremely well and the record of success for B.C. students is very good.”
While in Quebec, Cox will be tested against other post-secondary trades students.