Competitors from TJ line up outside of the Kentucky Exposition Center moments before competition (L to R; back row: Isaac Whistler, Jack McCord, Ben Abram, Owen Miner; front row: Ben Robinson, Wesley Washburn, Mitch Siegel). photo by Jerry Esparza
More than 15,000 students, teachers, and advisors gathered in Louisville, Kentucky for the competition of a lifetime.
From June 24-29th, competitors from all over the country gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, to showcase their career and technical skills in the SkillsUSA National Competition. The sold out venue was flooded with 15,000 eager participants, six of whom were from TJ. SkillsUSA, a student-led organization, focuses on personal, workplace, and technical skills (grounded in academics) in order to prepare students to go into a career or college after high school with the skill sets needed to succeed. Through service work and competitions, students were recognized and awarded for their outstanding work.
Due to SkillsUSA being a student organization, the entire competition was planned out by the National Officer Team composed of high school/postsecondary students. The events and ceremonies were put together and assisted by SkillsUSA State Officers. Each state sent around six of their State Officers, including Isaac Whistler and Ben Abram from TJ, to help represent Colorado. The officers arrived in Louisville four days before the competition to undergo an intense leadership training program and help plan out the many events. Whistler concluded, “After leadership training, I am going to bring back what we learned to our officer meetings to help us improve as a team.” After the State Officers were recognized with a certificate marking them ‘Leverage Certified,’ they were ready to host the thousands of students from across the country. Students and teachers stayed in a multitude of hotels near the Kentucky Exposition Center, each hotel hosting one state. Colorado was matched with the Best Western hotel, where the Colorado State Officers were excited to welcome around 300 members for the upcoming week.
To kick off competition week, there was an opening ceremony to help transition the students from summer vacation into competition mode. As each state gathered to represent themselves with cheers and signs, the venue flooded with 11,000 people. Hosted by Toyota and 3M, SkillsUSA reached insane membership numbers on a national scale this year. To finish off the opening ceremony, the business representatives and national officers sent everyone on their way for a good night’s rest before a long week of competition. Accompanied by CTE Teacher and SkillsUSA advisor, Jerry Esparza, the participants from TJ arrived early Tuesday morning and awaited instructions. Eager to compete, the students were assigned their specific prompts and went straight to work. Not only was the competition a reflection upon their skills, but it reached farther into the students’ futures and opened up many new opportunities.
TJ senior and fourth year competitor in SkillsUSA for 3D, Owen Miner, shared his experience at nationals. “[Nationals] has made me more passionate about 3D. I have started working on it more and I’ve gotten better, and competition gave me more motivation.” Miner and his partner were in an all day competition behind the computer screen, showcasing their talent with 3D animation. Nationals gave him, and thousands of others, an opportunity to express their passion and consider what the future holds. He continued, “I am planning on getting an internship with an animation company. I now know I want to pursue a career in 3D. Nationals showed me that I am good enough to make it into this career.”
Not only were the students willing to sacrifice their summer for tremendous growth within their skillset, but the teachers also put their lives on hold to make it all possible. Esparza was able to bring competitors with incredible skill sets, including senior Ben Robinson, who placed 5th in the nation for computer programming, setting a new TJ record. “Competition has made me realize some of the skills I have and look back on what I’ve done so I can improve and learn more.” Participation is SkillsUSA allows students such as Robinson to hone their skills and use them outside of the classroom.
TJ was also recognized as a Model of Excellence school for hosting a community service food drive. After attending the National Conference for seven years, Esparza confirmed that 2019 was unique compared to the past. “Overall, it was a great experience. Since I’ve been there several times, each year has been a little different. This last year we were a Model of Excellence chapter, which brought us a new experience. I was more involved in the activities this year than I have before, due to the nomination. It allowed me to attend more events than I have in the past.” The actual competitions change every year and adapt to the future workplace of America, but the core values and purpose of nationals remain the same. As Esparza said, “Conference at SkillsUSA nationally is all about the students, which makes it unique from other conferences that are solely about training, whereas [SkillsUSA] is focused on mainly students and it’s overwhelming to see how many participants there were.”
