The Sanford School Department recently recognized the Sanford Regional Technical Center students who have qualified for the SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta in June. Among the qualifiers are Alexander Barth and Melody Schaeffer, who took home the gold medal in the 3D Visualization and Animation team contest.

Sanford Regional Technical Center students Alexander Barth, of Kennebunk, and Melody Schaeffer, Massabesic, qualified for the SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta. Courtesy photo

According to a news release, before the state SkillsUSA competition in March, technical center students Barth and Schaeffer expected they were presenting an animation short they had prepared months in the making for the 3D Visualization and Animation competition in Bangor.

Barth, from Kennebunk High School, and Schaeffer, from Massabesic High School, who are in the digital design program at Sanford Regional Technical Center, had put the time and effort to ensure everything was ready for their animation.

“Two months before the competition, Alex was teaching me things, and I made a little animated short,” Schaeffer said in an email. “We thought we were making our short and presenting it at states.”

When they arrived at the state competition, they found out they wouldn’t be presenting the short and instead had to make a prompt entirely from scratch. The prompt was a cartoon plane leaving a hanger. They brought their own computers, modeled the assets, and animated them, all while using unfamiliar animation software called Blender.

Despite odds seemingly set against them, Barth and Schaeffer were able to adjust on the fly, create the prompt, and win the gold medal in the 3D Visualization and Animation team contest to qualify for the national competition in Atlanta in June.

“And so we made that, and it came out pretty well,” Schaeffer said. “And that was my whole introduction to Blender.”

“You did amazing,” Barth said to Schaeffer.

Barth and Schaeffer had to rely on skills they learned in the digital design program taught by Anita Lavigne. They also leaned on precision manufacturing teacher Joseph Bolduc for some guidance.

They both felt they could still compete well at the state competition based on what they had learned in the program.

“We were both confident in our abilities, but we also weren’t really sure what the other teams were making,” Barth said.

Now, with nationals on the horizon, Barth and Schaeffer hope they won’t be caught off guard this time. They expect to be ready and prepared to compete against the nation’s best. They are also looking forward to traveling out of state.

“I’m excited to go. I’ve never been to Atlanta,” Schaeffer said. “My mom is a chaperone, so that’s going to be fun.”