High school senior Zahrah Hayden has fabricating skills that’d put most trash-talking “experts” to shame. Photos of her Chevrolet pickup sculpture have been shared across Facebook and praised for the immense amount of intricate detail, inside and out. You see, it was all part of an extracurricular Skills USA competition and with over 100 hours worth of work invested in the piece, she was a frontrunner for first place.
Then, a seemingly senseless rule stripped her of the victory.
Hayden was knocked for her use of the Chevrolet logo on the truck’s grille, which is apparently a no-no. This caused judges to deduct 50 points from her overall score, putting her in second place. Again, seems harsh, doesn’t it?
Hayden says everything on the truck came from scrap that she found in her school’s shop class. All of the bends and welds we see in the photos were done by Hayden, which is an impressive feat for a person of any age. Just look at the interior, which consists of miniature gauges, a bench seat, a gas and brake pedal, and a bolt repurposed to model a steering column.
Essentially, Hayden took initiative from start to finish by drawing out detailed schematics and seeing the project through to its completed state. It even includes hardened bits of molten metal that resemble rushing water to put the truck in a real-world setting.
Still, this wasn’t enough to capture the win in her regional competition. Second place does permit Hayden a pass to the state finals, though, where she’ll re-enter the sculpture in hopes of winning the hardware she rightfully deserves.
The piece of art no doubt proves Hayden’s handiness with a welder along with various other shop tools required for detailed metalwork. That said, it’s wrong to latch onto her point deductions while ignoring the hard work that other students put into the competition. Several Facebook commenters mention that other kids spent as much, if not more time on their projects, but also acknowledge that the rules on logos may be unnecessary.
We’ll agree with that, but still, we’re rooting for Hayden at her next contest. And when all is said done, this pickup will make for the ultimate mantlepiece.
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