Their talents are in two different worlds.

But they鈥檙e the best at what they do in B.C., and now head to the Canadian championships.

Josh Childs, a grade 11 Vanier student, and Joseph Thoong, a grade 12 student also at Vanier, are off May 31 to the Skills Canada national competition in Winnipeg.

Childs is the provincial champion in electronics, while Thoong won the title in graphic design.

Thoong has been drawing and making art all his life. He鈥檚 taken art classes for the past five years.

鈥淒esign seemed the next step,鈥� he said.

But since there鈥檚 no graphic design course at Vanier, Thoong studies in a 鈥渟elf-directed鈥� class supervised by a teacher.

He鈥檚 also been busy in the world of work experience at Courtenay鈥檚 Sure Copy, designing logos for school sports teams, creating the provincial logo for BC School Sports Mountain Biking, and is just about finished 鈥渞ebranding鈥� Vanier鈥檚 school logo.

After graduating this year, he plans to enrol in the bachelor degree design course at Vancouver Island University, (with a minor in management), and then head to Vancouver for work, he hopes, with a marketing agency or design firm.

Childs, on the other hand, doesn鈥檛 plan to pursue electronics as a career.

His true love is math, and physics, and he hopes to pursue those interests into a career as an astro-physicist. He wants to study at UBC.

Electronics, though, appeals to the tinkerer in him, something he鈥檚 been doing since an early age, having made a flashlight in grade four.

And electronics combines the need for technical skills as well as knowledge of scientific theory.

Childs said he only started electronics last year.

鈥淚 took one class in Mr. Claassen鈥檚 room 鈥� and kind of took off from there,鈥� he said.

Steve Claassen is the Drafting, Electronics, Robotics Engineering teacher at Vanier.

He accompanied the Vanier students competing at the B.C. Skills Canada competition in Abbotsford at the Tradex. About 6,000 people turned out to watch the almost 600 students, including 16 from Highland, Vanier and Mark R. Isfeld, compete.

Claassen, who鈥檚 been teaching at Vanier for nine years, couldn鈥檛 be prouder of the two provincial gold medal winners.

鈥淣ot all kids play sports. This is a different type of competition that highlights the skilled talent of individuals in the Valley,鈥� he said.

鈥淰anier has always participated in Skills Canada. The Valley usually does very well in electronics over the years,鈥� he said, adding that a Highland electronics student will be heading to the world competition in Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates this October.

鈥淪ome kids are wired for wiring,鈥� he said. 鈥淛oseph has an artistic ability.鈥�

Both students expect the national competition to be particularly challenging.

The competitions are spread out over 12 hours in two days.

Thoong expects the national event to be 鈥渁 lot harder than provincials 鈥� it鈥檚 terrifying.鈥�

The two students are busy fund-raising to help defray the costs of getting to Winnipeg. They have a Go Fund Me page at www.gofundme.com/Vanier-Skills-Canada-to-Nationals.

Thoong is also designing a t-shirt to sell for fund-raising.

n Other Valley students who won medals at the provincial competition were Cole Sheppard, Vanier, silver medal in Auto Collision Repair; Chad Humphries, Vanier, silver medal in Electronics; Geoffry Hynds and Madalyn Rissling, Isfeld, silver in TV-Video Production.