Dear Friends,
Thank you for all your support and encouragement. I finished 6th overall in the world and earned a Medallion for Excellence for scoring in the top 10% overall. I will have more details and photos when I get home, but I need to get some sleep as my flight leaves early tomorrow morning. Thank you again for all the great support!
-Daniel
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
One School, One Country, Opening Ceremony and Competition Day 1
Hello friends!
Well once again I have to play catch up since the schedule yesterday made it difficult for me to get online and post, and for that I apologize!
Yesterday was an incredible day. One of those day I am sure I will remember for the rest of my life. One of those days I will probably tell my children and grandchildren about in the years to come. Myself and the rest of the WorldTeam had the opportunity to participate in a program put on by WorldSkills International called One School, One Country. We visited a primary school in Stratford, a suburb of London, and spend several hours with roughly 150-200 kindergarten though fifth grade students. The students had spend the last few weeks learning all about us and about America, and about the skills/trades we represent. They lined the street to welcome our bus as we approached the school. They screamed and cheered and waved homemade American flags. Then each grade level performed a song/dance routine honoring us as their special guests. We introduced ourselves and then entertained a 45 minute long question and answer session. They we played with them on the playground and gave out gifts and visited with them for about 20 minutes. After that we ate lunch with them in the cafeteria which was a great opportunity to sit and answer questions and make new friends! Next, each of us competitors visited a different class where the students had learned all about us and our trade, and had made art projects related to it. I had a kindergarten class where the students had made little paper cars with cardboard wheels and brightly colored sides. It was really touching to see how sweet and proper these kids were, and how excited they were to share with me their creations. Stratford is a lower income area with a very diverse culture, yet all of these kids seemed to be so kind to each other and so respectful of their teachers. It was truly heartwarming to see and be a part of. Then they lined the walkways and made a tunnel for us to run through as we left, cheering the whole way. I can say this for sure, there was not one of our 17 faces that didn't have a smile a mile wide as we rode the bus back to our hotel. It was truly a special experience.
The opening ceremony was also last night and was quite and exciting event. There were an abundance of dance performances, live music, speeches, and excitement. I had the privilege of carrying the American flag on stage during the Parade of Nations which was a really neat honor.
Needless to say, it was a very long and tiring day. So worth it though!
Now, today was competition day one! Long, tiring, but overall successfull. I'll post a photo or two, but I will have to add more details and photos later as they become available!
Well once again I have to play catch up since the schedule yesterday made it difficult for me to get online and post, and for that I apologize!
Yesterday was an incredible day. One of those day I am sure I will remember for the rest of my life. One of those days I will probably tell my children and grandchildren about in the years to come. Myself and the rest of the WorldTeam had the opportunity to participate in a program put on by WorldSkills International called One School, One Country. We visited a primary school in Stratford, a suburb of London, and spend several hours with roughly 150-200 kindergarten though fifth grade students. The students had spend the last few weeks learning all about us and about America, and about the skills/trades we represent. They lined the street to welcome our bus as we approached the school. They screamed and cheered and waved homemade American flags. Then each grade level performed a song/dance routine honoring us as their special guests. We introduced ourselves and then entertained a 45 minute long question and answer session. They we played with them on the playground and gave out gifts and visited with them for about 20 minutes. After that we ate lunch with them in the cafeteria which was a great opportunity to sit and answer questions and make new friends! Next, each of us competitors visited a different class where the students had learned all about us and our trade, and had made art projects related to it. I had a kindergarten class where the students had made little paper cars with cardboard wheels and brightly colored sides. It was really touching to see how sweet and proper these kids were, and how excited they were to share with me their creations. Stratford is a lower income area with a very diverse culture, yet all of these kids seemed to be so kind to each other and so respectful of their teachers. It was truly heartwarming to see and be a part of. Then they lined the walkways and made a tunnel for us to run through as we left, cheering the whole way. I can say this for sure, there was not one of our 17 faces that didn't have a smile a mile wide as we rode the bus back to our hotel. It was truly a special experience.
The opening ceremony was also last night and was quite and exciting event. There were an abundance of dance performances, live music, speeches, and excitement. I had the privilege of carrying the American flag on stage during the Parade of Nations which was a really neat honor.
Needless to say, it was a very long and tiring day. So worth it though!
Now, today was competition day one! Long, tiring, but overall successfull. I'll post a photo or two, but I will have to add more details and photos later as they become available!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Tour of London and more!
Hello there!
Yesterday was a fantastic day, I apologize for not updating sooner, but I was exhausted last night, and very busy all day today. I've decided to keep this post mostly pictures since I have a lot of them and they're much more enjoyable than reading my writing!
We spend the day doing what is call the London Excursion which is an all day tour of London via bus, boat, and air. The first neck of the journey was aboard vintage double decker buses which they brought out of retirement for two events, our event: the Skill Olympics, and they will also be brought out for the 2012 Summer Olympic games. Our tour produced the largest ever recorded convoy of double decker buses in the world!
Just a quick note, I would like to give a shout out to all my friends at Rizzoli's Automotive, I brought my trusty hat with me yesterday as I toured around London! You might see it pop up in some of these photos.
Photos include: St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, The Tower of London, Views from the London Eye, and a famous pub!
More pictures and stories to come when my internet is working better.
Cheers!
Yesterday was a fantastic day, I apologize for not updating sooner, but I was exhausted last night, and very busy all day today. I've decided to keep this post mostly pictures since I have a lot of them and they're much more enjoyable than reading my writing!
We spend the day doing what is call the London Excursion which is an all day tour of London via bus, boat, and air. The first neck of the journey was aboard vintage double decker buses which they brought out of retirement for two events, our event: the Skill Olympics, and they will also be brought out for the 2012 Summer Olympic games. Our tour produced the largest ever recorded convoy of double decker buses in the world!
Just a quick note, I would like to give a shout out to all my friends at Rizzoli's Automotive, I brought my trusty hat with me yesterday as I toured around London! You might see it pop up in some of these photos.
Photos include: St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, The Tower of London, Views from the London Eye, and a famous pub!
More pictures and stories to come when my internet is working better.
Cheers!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Washington D.C. to London!
Good evening from London! It's time to recap the last 24 hours which have been... well... eventful! I woke up yesterday morning, and we headed out of the hotel only to find that instead of boarding a bus to take us to our appointments around Washington, we had to ride around in this:
We affectionately nicknamed this "the hummerlimo" and were chauffeured expertly around D.C. despite several stops to have the vehicle swept by the Secret Service and explosive sniffing dogs. It was definitely traveling in style, despite that fact that we packed 22 people into that limo. We got an awful lot of people waving, smiling, and taking pictures as we drove around. It was pretty fun, made 
us all feel rather important.
Our first stop of the day was at the White House to meet with President Obama's Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra in the conference center. He was a very warm and gave us a 15 minute talk about what he does and how he is working with the president to develop a system to improve Emergency personnel response times to vehicle accidents. I was particularly interested in this subject because of my involvement in the Automotive industry. Based on the conversation with him, I would not be surprised if we see an OnStar like system become standard on all vehicles sometime in the near future. The purpose of this being to immediately alert emergency services of your location and the condition of your vehicle upon any sort of collision.
After pausing for a team picture in front of the White House, we headed up to Capitol Hill to meet with the Caucus on Career and Technical Education. Here I had the privilege to briefly share about my past competition experiences, and also to share my thoughts on the importance of Career Technical Education at the High School and Post-Secondary level.
After this, we made two more stops, one at the Department of Education and one at the U.S. Senate.
Our last stop of the day was a team photo in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Then it was off to the airport for a 7 hour flight over to London. We arrived safely and had a fairly uneventful (albeit long) ride to our hotel. We did a little exploring this evening, but most of the day has been spent trying to recover from jet lag and get everything set for the next week. Tomorrow we will be going on the London Excursion which is a bus tour, cruise on the Thames river, and a ride in the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world (so I'm told). I'll do my best to get some good photos.
That's all for now!
-Daniel
We affectionately nicknamed this "the hummerlimo" and were chauffeured expertly around D.C. despite several stops to have the vehicle swept by the Secret Service and explosive sniffing dogs. It was definitely traveling in style, despite that fact that we packed 22 people into that limo. We got an awful lot of people waving, smiling, and taking pictures as we drove around. It was pretty fun, made 
us all feel rather important.
Our first stop of the day was at the White House to meet with President Obama's Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra in the conference center. He was a very warm and gave us a 15 minute talk about what he does and how he is working with the president to develop a system to improve Emergency personnel response times to vehicle accidents. I was particularly interested in this subject because of my involvement in the Automotive industry. Based on the conversation with him, I would not be surprised if we see an OnStar like system become standard on all vehicles sometime in the near future. The purpose of this being to immediately alert emergency services of your location and the condition of your vehicle upon any sort of collision.
After pausing for a team picture in front of the White House, we headed up to Capitol Hill to meet with the Caucus on Career and Technical Education. Here I had the privilege to briefly share about my past competition experiences, and also to share my thoughts on the importance of Career Technical Education at the High School and Post-Secondary level.
After this, we made two more stops, one at the Department of Education and one at the U.S. Senate.
Our last stop of the day was a team photo in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Then it was off to the airport for a 7 hour flight over to London. We arrived safely and had a fairly uneventful (albeit long) ride to our hotel. We did a little exploring this evening, but most of the day has been spent trying to recover from jet lag and get everything set for the next week. Tomorrow we will be going on the London Excursion which is a bus tour, cruise on the Thames river, and a ride in the London Eye, the largest Ferris wheel in the world (so I'm told). I'll do my best to get some good photos.
That's all for now!
-Daniel
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Journey Begins: San Luis Obispo to Washington D.C.
Hello friends,
Day 1 of my adventure has come to a close, and I think it can be best summed up in one word: tiring. Made it safely to Washington D.C. where I met up with the rest of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam for a meeting over dinner. We have a pretty busy schedule planned for tomorrow including multiple House and Senate visits, a White House visit, and a team photo in front of the United States Capitol. Tomorrow will be an early morning, so I am off to try and tackle this project of getting my body to adjust to the time change. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated! Check back tomorrow for a report on our day on Capitol Hill!
Day 1 of my adventure has come to a close, and I think it can be best summed up in one word: tiring. Made it safely to Washington D.C. where I met up with the rest of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam for a meeting over dinner. We have a pretty busy schedule planned for tomorrow including multiple House and Senate visits, a White House visit, and a team photo in front of the United States Capitol. Tomorrow will be an early morning, so I am off to try and tackle this project of getting my body to adjust to the time change. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated! Check back tomorrow for a report on our day on Capitol Hill!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
It's Go Time!
It’s finally here. After waiting for two years, spending hundreds of hours in preparation, and traveling over 10,000 combined miles for training, I will set foot on an airplane bound for Washington D.C. Thursday morning. Not long after that, I will be heading to London, England accompanied by the other 16 members of the 2011 SkillsUSA WorldTeam, for the 41st WorldSkills International Competition. It is really hard for me to believe that the time has finally come. I am so excited for this adventure to begin!
After spending the week in the city, I traveled down to Pittsburg, Kansas with Ron Downing and Scott Norman (USA Technical Experts for Automotive Technology) to spend another week training at their fantastic Pittsburg State University Facility. Their staff of instructors including: Bob Schroer, Tim Dell, Mike Elder, and others, transferred a wealth of knowledge to me as I began to prepare for the WorldSkills competition. During the week in Pittsburg, I stayed with Ron and his wife Suzanne in their beautiful home and they introduced me to some of south-eastern Kansas' greatest hits including: Chicken Annies, Chatters, The Deli, strip-mine pits, and Brutus, the largest electric powered coal mining shovel in the world! (Or something like that).
We also visited Joplin, MO where a tornado had struck 4.5 weeks earlier and killed over 150 people. It was quite a sobering experience to drive through a town that had a majority of its area literally wiped off the face of the earth. This was a very sobering experience, but damage like that is something you just can't understand until you go there and see it yourself.
So now it's go time! The bags are packed and the work is done. I am very much looking forward to this trip and will be posting updates on here every day. Please visit often and follow me as I pursue my goal of earning the first ever gold medal for the United States at the WorldSkills level in Automotive Technology!
The last few months have been a flurry of activity and short notice trips to some interesting parts of the country. It all started this summer in Kansas City, MO with the 2011 SkillsUSA National Championships.
There, I went through nearly all of thestations in both the Post-secondary and secondary division to practice for the upcoming competition in London. This was fantastic practice, and it was great to see all of our SkillsUSA friends from around the country. While in Kansas City, I also met up with the rest of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam for the first time.
After spending the week in the city, I traveled down to Pittsburg, Kansas with Ron Downing and Scott Norman (USA Technical Experts for Automotive Technology) to spend another week training at their fantastic Pittsburg State University Facility. Their staff of instructors including: Bob Schroer, Tim Dell, Mike Elder, and others, transferred a wealth of knowledge to me as I began to prepare for the WorldSkills competition. During the week in Pittsburg, I stayed with Ron and his wife Suzanne in their beautiful home and they introduced me to some of south-eastern Kansas' greatest hits including: Chicken Annies, Chatters, The Deli, strip-mine pits, and Brutus, the largest electric powered coal mining shovel in the world! (Or something like that).We also visited Joplin, MO where a tornado had struck 4.5 weeks earlier and killed over 150 people. It was quite a sobering experience to drive through a town that had a majority of its area literally wiped off the face of the earth. This was a very sobering experience, but damage like that is something you just can't understand until you go there and see it yourself.
After traveling back to San Luis Obispo, I have spent the next several months training intensely for the competition. Thanks to BMW North America and MINI USA, I was able to spend a full day at the Western Region Training Center working on the 2011 MINI Countryman. Also, thanks to Sunset Honda in San Luis Obispo, I have had a 2011 Honda CRV at my disposal for the last month and have been using it to train extensively for the competition!
So now it's go time! The bags are packed and the work is done. I am very much looking forward to this trip and will be posting updates on here every day. Please visit often and follow me as I pursue my goal of earning the first ever gold medal for the United States at the WorldSkills level in Automotive Technology!
Daniel Lehmkuhl
Monday, December 6, 2010
End of the Year Update
Hello Friends!
As 2010 comes to a close my mind drifts memories from the last year, and looks ahead to the excitement of the next! Looking back, I think I can safely say that the trip to Brazil I got to take in March was the highlight of the year (and quite possibly my entire life to this point). Looking ahead, I am super stoked to begin what I am anticipating will be nearly nine months of focused preparation for the WorldSkills 2011 in London next October. While the contest technical description and standards have not yet been released, I've begun discussing strategy and polishing up on my European diagnostic skills in anticipation of what I fully expect will be the most difficult contest I will face in my career. It is a daunting, yet severely exciting challenge that has motivated me to train and practice as much as I can, and give this thing my best shot! If you're at all interested, browse around the WorldSkills website and you can get an idea of what the event will be like. Also, I want to take a minute to say thank you to Rizzoli's Automotive, Snap-On Tools, Lowe's and all the other folks who support me and the WorldTeam, you are the ones who make all of this traveling possible! And if you are interesting in becoming a sponsor of me or the team, please contact me at daniel.lehmkuhl@gmail.com . Thank you!
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