Last week, Chris Leclair became the third straight Comox Valley student to win a gold medal in electronics at the Skills Canada National Competition.
A tenth-grader at Georges P. Vanier Secondary School, Leclair won a gold medal for B.C. June 2-3 in Quebec City.
“It was pretty fun,” he said. “You meet some pretty cool people, people with similar interests. The competition was pretty intense.”
Leclair was a little bit surprised to win gold at the nationals.
“Of course I was hoping to get it, but some of the guys were pretty good,” he said. “I’m the youngest, but B.C. for the last couple of years has done really well.”
Students from the Comox Valley have brought home electronics medals from the nationals for the past four years. Dane Hansen of Vanier won bronze in 2008, while Robin Farrell of Highland won gold in 2009, and Mark Roller of Vanier won gold in 2010.
This was Leclair’s first trip to Quebec City, and he stayed in the middle of the Old City. He saw the Plains of Abraham and the Citadelle, and he was able to go inside the Chateau Frontenac.
“It was really cool,” he said.
Leclair was impressed by the opening ceremonies, which included a speech by television star contractor Mike Holmes and live music by a band from Quebec.
During the awards ceremony, the announcers call out the winners from bronze to gold, and Leclair held the B.C. flag on the podium when he received his medal.
Leclair has been doing electronics since he was a little kid.
“I started getting into it more when I got here and joined the robotics club and started building things,” he said. “I do stuff here and I do stuff at home. I like building things. I’ve been fascinated with wires, electronics and electricity since I was little. I was one of those kids who took things apart. I still do, but now they usually go back together.”
Leclair thinks he’s been so successful because he spends his time doing electronics instead of partying.
He feels opportunities like joining the robotics club have helped give him direction and focus.
“One of the most important things I learned here was how to build things clean, how to make things look nice,” he said.
Leclair doesn’t yet know what he wants to do when he grows up, but he’s thinking of going into engineering. He is interested in video games and computer hardware, and he thinks the space program would be really cool.
“I don’t really know where I’m going except engineering, many electrical, mechanical or computer,” he said.
Electronics/robotics engineering teacher Steve Claassen has seen Leclair grow a lot, as he has cleaned up his work and gone from throwing things together to organizing it and making higher-quality designs.
“In the last couple years, Chris has come a long ways,” he said. “He’s got a talent. He has a passion for electronics. He’s well past what the classroom can offer him.”
Claassen believes Leclair’s successes make him a role model for other students.
“In the robotics club, he wasn’t taken very seriously because he was younger, but now he’s a role model for the younger kids, and he’s got the respect of the older kids because he’s proven himself,” he said. “Kids go to him if they need him.”
Vanier’s two straight national electronics wins speak to the quality of the school’s electronics program, noted Claassen.
“Vanier is full of great programs, from sports to fine arts, and electronics and robotics is just one more example of excellence at this school,” he said.
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
