North Star graduate only Montana college student to take gold at national competition

Maureen Brakked, Montana State University Billlings director of university communications and marketing and Tim Leeds, Havre Daily News

A graduate of North Star High School in Rudyard was the only college student in Montana to take the gold at the national SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta this summer.

Dylan Miller of Gildford, who graduated this spring from Montana State University's City College, took the gold medal in automotive refinishing in Atlanta.

Miller said it was a great experience.

"It was kind of cool, meeting kids from different states, seeing what products and techniques they use," he said.

He said the competition took eight hours on one day and included two written tests, priming and painting a scratch and mixing paint to match colors.

SkillsUSA is a national program recognizing students in fields of trade and industry. The national competition in Atlanta brought more than 12,000 high school and college students together from across the country.

"It is a great accomplishment just to get to go to Atlanta," said Steve Wodrich, instructor for autobody technology at City College. "For Dylan Miller to take first place in his field is truly amazing. The students that compete at SkillsUSA have already beat hundreds of other students for the chance to compete, so whoever wins is absolutely the best of the best."

Miller, who competed in SkillsUSA through high school as well as college, spoke highly about Wodrich, who encouraged him to continue competing at SkillsUSA and has been a big part of his life during his time at City College.

Miller said Wodrich is willing to do anything to see students succeed and feels that he has his instructor's support in anything he does.

Miller is following a family tradition, for the most part, in attending school in Billings, where he received associate degrees in collision repair and refinishing and in diesel technology.

His parents, David and July Miller, also attended college in Billings while it still was Eastern Montana College.

His older sister, Kiera, graduated from Billings in community health and now is attending graduate school there and one of his brothers, Dane, is attending the Montana State University Billings main campus, double majoring in accounting and finance.

Dylan's wife, Emma - they just were married this summer - also is a student there and will finish her nursing degree next fall.

The last of the three triplets of which Dylan and Dane are part, Devon, graduated this spring from Montana State University with a degree in plant science.

Dylan Miller said he is going back to City College in Billings this fall as a teaching assistant in the automotive collision and refinishing department, helping Wodrich as he grows the program and Emma finishes her degree.

Miller said it is important to keep the auto body program growing and strong, as it is the only automotive collision and refinishing program left in the state.

"We need to have the program if we're going to keep fixing cars in (Montana)," he said.