He’s the sole survivor and now he’s heading to Kansas.

Jeffery Harry, a senior at Crawford County Area Vocational-Technical School, was the only one of 12 talented students to place first at state-level competition recently, qualifying him for nationals.

Harry, son of Louri and Jeffery Harry Sr., competed in the employment application process, a new category for the Pennsylvania SkillsUSA District 10 competition.

The all-day event was held in the Hershey Convention Center in Hershey with about 1,300 students from across the state participating in 73 different categories such as auto refinishing technology, cosmetology, industrial motor control, electrical and more.

As a new competition, Harry didn’t quite know what to expect.

“I was kind of excited, but nervous at the same time because I wasn’t exactly sure how they would do the grading system,” he said. “No one at CCAVTS has done it before.”

The employment application process competition judged students on their job-seeking preparedness.

In addition to providing a resume, there were three additional components to the contest.

In part one, students submitted a portfolio of their work that highlighted their abilities and accomplishments relating to their technical field and awards they had received.

Part two of the competition measured contestants’ preparation for completing an employment application. Students were judged on writing legibility and how well they demonstrated their education and training.

The final part of the competition involved performing mock job interviews. Students earned points based on the their informal conversations, listening skills and their ability to express themselves to perspective employers.

According to Harry, he owes a great deal of his success in the competition to SkillsUSA Advisor Shari Wilkinson of CCAVTS.

“Mrs. Wilkinson helped me get ready for the competition,” he said. “We practiced doing employment interviewing and setting up my portfolio the way they wanted it set up.”

All of Harry’s preparation for the contest was aimed at his qualifications in the automotive technology field as if he was applying for a real job.

“Judges asked me questions about how my past training and experience would help me in getting a job in my field,” he said.