Recently selected students from the Career and Technical Education program competed in SkillsUSA at Jones College. 

   SkillsUSA is a partnership of students and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce which helps each student excel. They provide educational programs, events and competitions that support career and technical education in the nation’s classrooms.

   “SkillsUSA encompasses so many different avenues for the students but I would say that it is gonna be from personal point of view, also from the workplace point of view and technical skill point of view. With personal skills obviously their gonna be working on professionalism, their planning and organizational skills, their leadership skills is what they will also gather from their personal point of view. When you get into the workplace your going to be looking at communication skills along with their safety and health skills. Also each competitive event will be job specific so their will be a lot of skills they will develop overall.”  Work Based Learning teacher Ellen Strahan said. 

   A few students who competed this year already knew what to expect in their competitions because they attended last year through their program.  

   “I was excited but I wasn’t that excited because I got second place at state last year and my goal this year is to get first,”  Junior Alvin Chen said. 

   Chen had to prepare a little differently this year in order to do better than his opponents at regional and state competition. 

   “Last year I didn’t get help from anyone. I just took some test, but this year I got help from teachers, and they tutored me,” Chen said. 

   This year several of our CTE departments placed. Automotive placing second, Extemporaneous Speaking placing first and third, Related Technical Math placing first, Opening and Closing Ceremony placing second, Prepared Speech placing first and third, Carpentry placing third, Team Works placing third and lastly Welding placing second. 

   In the next few weeks these students will be working hard as they prepare for their state competition in Jackson on March 7 – 9. Only students who place first at state will advance to national held in Atlanta again this year.