Students at De Soto High School were recently given the chance to participate in the Fifth Annual Competitive Technology Event at Johnson County Community College.

The competition gives high school teachers around the area to pick students that excel in that certain classes an opportunity to compete with students from other schools.

The event took place on Jan. 15 and hosted a total of 24 high schools with nearly 600 students.

Students had the chance to qualify for individual placement for their event. Those scores then counted towards total division scores in which DHS placed second in the small class division.

DHS participated in a total of six events: Advertising Graphic Design, Career Interviews, Ceramics, Desktop Publishing, Entrepreneurship and Music Production. In total DHS brought home a total of 12 awards.

In Advertising Graphic Design, Emily Herrington and Kimberly Earl placed second and Alex Lewis and Melinda Sanchez placed third.

Taylor Herron placed third in Career Interviews.

In Ceramics, Emma Jackson placed first, Caydia Hopper placed third and Molly Zahner placed fourth.

In Desktop Publishing Erick Sherman placed second, Maddie Mathew placed third and Aneka Zarger placed fifth.

Braxton Henry and Michael Colwell placed second in Entrepreneurship.

In Music Production, Zach Burch and Corey Conley placed first and Simon Couch and Peyton Hennager placed second.

Each event had its own set of instructions for what the competitors were to complete in order to compete.

“[For Desktop Publishing] we had to have all the resources we used for our images, as well as the brushes we used. Then, we had to print it off and put them on a giant poster board for presentation. Also we had to have sketches and write about all the things that we did and why we did them,” Sherman said.

Other events required different things from its participants.

“[For Career Interviews] we had to prepare a resume and get dressed up and know about the career so that you can show why you are fit for the position,” Reynolds said.

The competition also gave students an opportunity to gain experience in their area.

“I gained some valuable knowledge on what I could do better. The guy who was our judge is an actual audio engineer so he knows what he’s talking about. Now I know what to change when I do my final copy to make it better,” Burch said.

For some, the competition was different than how they pictured it would be.

“It wasn’t as scary as I thought, I prepared and had everything ready and I thought it was going to be a bigger deal than it actually was.” Reynolds said.

Others had the opportunity to compete in something different than what they normally compete in.

“I was very surprised I wasn’t expecting to do very well considering I’ve never seen myself as someone who’s really good at graphic arts. I’m usually known as the band or Scholars Bowl guy so it was really cool to go to and experience an art event,” Sherman said.

Overall, the event was a success and helped offer students a new experience.