Students attending CTSO Kickoff were able to view the Zoom meeting while having their personalized workspaces and materials that were provided. photo by Alice Larm
The seven CTSOs in Colorado, including two from TJ, participated in a virtual convention to kick off their programs of work for the upcoming year.
Given that the year 2020 has been far from conventional, it is no surprise that clubs and organizations have had to adapt to the changes of the pandemic. It has been up to the individual organizations to determine how they are going to meet virtually, collect money, and run events over the course of the 2020-2021 school year. Of the seven Career and Technical Student Organizations, or CTSOs, that exist in Colorado, TJ has chapters for two CTSOs: SkillsUSA and DECA. While these organizations vary in their specialization, SkillsUSA being trades and industry and DECA being marketing, their core values and programs of work are very similar given they are led by the same CTE coordinators. Every year, high school officers from all seven CTSOs gather together for a leadership training convention known as the CTSO Kickoff. This annual convention led by the Colorado State Officers was conducted virtually this year but was successful nonetheless.
This event, hosted by many special guests, took place on September 23rd in a full-day Zoom meeting. Students who registered in advance were given a code to access the Zoom meetings, as well as a book of information and activities for the big day of training. The beginning of the event was hosted by many guest speakers who helped the students learn things, such as what type of leadership skills they possess. “One thing we got to do during the CTSO Kickoff was to figure out if we were a planner, thinker, creator, or connector. I learned I was a connector and a planner, so I am figuring out ways I can praise my teammate’s unique leadership skills, acknowledge consistency throughout all my peers’ work, paying attention to detail, and being engaged in class and meetings with cameras on for DECA and TJ as a whole,” explained Kate Jordan Little, a sophomore who is a DECA officer at TJ. Students who attended these workshops learned valuable information that they are able to relay to the rest of their chapters. Having a year encapsulated by constant change, it is important that students can find ways to be creative in engaging other students, especially with clubs and organizations that require frequent participation. After attending DECA workshops surrounding community service, public relations, and leadership development, Jordan Little added, “My takeaway from the virtual CTSO kickoff was figuring out different ways that we can still engage students and people in our clubs and organizations to volunteer and have fun while also being productive and safe throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.”
These workshops were led by Colorado State Officers representing the seven CTSOs. Two of the state officers who ran the workshops were TJ seniors Alice Larm, Colorado District 3 Representative for DECA, and Ben Abram, SkillsUSA Colorado State President. Larm shared her intentions for the events she ran, “My intentions were mostly to interact with chapter officers and the DECA community in general. We wanted this interaction since we haven’t really been able to communicate with students much this year. Also to inform, so in our community service workshop we talked a lot about how even though we have the pandemic, we can still better the community.” These workshops gave students a free space to brainstorm ideas of adapting a normal program of work into a pandemic-safe environment. Larm and other members of DECA have brainstormed many ideas to fulfill their 10-10-10 initiative safely. “The 10-10-10 initiative is 10,000 lbs of food, 10,000 hours of community service, and 10,000 dollars collectively raised by DECA. How that fits into community service is that even though it’s a weird year, we want to complete 10,000 hours of community service from Colorado DECA as a whole,” mentioned Larm.
Clubs and organizations are inevitably going to struggle this year while adapting to the socially distanced community. Luckily, this virtual CTSO Kickoff gave all of the chapters in Colorado, including TJ, the opportunity to come together and collaborate in order to better navigate through the upcoming year.
