Skills USA is the largest Career and Technical Student Organization in the nation, state, city and school. It is a club that teaches professionalism, career readiness, and responsibility. Skills USA empowers students to become skilled professionals and career ready leaders for the workplace.
“We have a framework that helps guide students to learning, and each of the frameworks have different elements,” senior State Officer Peyton Pecorino said. “There’s technical skills grounded in academics, which is knowing your way around a computer. There’s workplace skills, being able to work in a team, having multicultural sensitivity and awareness. It teaches you to work with everyone. The third part is personal skills, which teaches responsibility.”
Skills USA is run by many different officers and a president. Each position in the club varies their responsibilities, and the president of Skills USA is senior Reid Waters. There are many state officers that help the president run the club.
“I am a state officer, so I am a state historian,” Pecorino said. “I get to tell the story about our state, and all the different chapters, from El Paso, to Austin, to San Antonio and everywhere across Texas. It’s really cool to me because it also aligns with videography. Our secretary takes notes at meetings, our parliamentarians are the rule people. If we’re doing something that relates to court, that’s what the parliamentarians do. There are seven officers who represent 30 thousand kids across the state of Texas.”
Being a part of Skills USA can take you anywhere. Each student can compete in their individual passion that they’re interested in, instead of all students doing the same thing. This helps students follow their dreams and be able to get more experience no matter the specific field they prefer.
“In Skills USA, there is something for everyone,” senior District 5 Parliamentarian Georgia Fleming said. “You bond over the experience and make connections you never would have if not for the organization. It’s not about being the smartest person in the room– it’s about skill and effort.”
Skills USA highlights the importance of teamwork as well as individual hard work and a strong work ethic. These skills are essential for students as they enter the workforce.
“The part that I enjoy most about Skills USA is the ability to network and make connections with other people,” Pecorino said. “If you’re not part of a CTSO you really can’t network with people. Skills USA has given me so many opportunities, I’ve gotten internships and met really wealthy people from Skills USA.”
One of the most important aspects of the club is competition. Each member can select their own topic to compete in. Competition takes place in the winter and spring, depending on how well the student does during contests.
“This year, competition dates are pushed back because of the World Cup, since Atlanta is one of the places they play,” Pecorino said. “At the end of January, we’ll do our district contests in Waco. In March, we will go to Corpus Cristi for our state competition. This year was my first trip to nationals, I was a delegate for Reid Waters.”
But competition isn’t the only upcoming event for the club. Next month, the officers will facilitate at The Washington Leadership Training to learn more skills.
“We are going to learn parliamentary procedure, and I think we will be in the legislative building,” Pecorino said. “Mr. (David) Lanman is a board of directors for Texas Skills USA, and without him and Reid’s help I wouldn’t be where I am. I learned about the leadership aspect from him, and I’m naturally a leader. I also want to be a director because I like putting things together and seeing all the different pieces come together.”
Skills USA fills a void in the club world that bridges professionalism with friends, hard work with good character, and work ethic with social networking. It highlights the importance of skilled labor, industry valued skills, and increased opportunities for students and graduates alike.
“Skills USA is an organization that is preparing students for the workforce, so when you get your dream job, you’re already five steps ahead of everyone at your level,” Fleming said. “You prove that your months of hard work, discipline and commitment to greatness pays off. The feeling of leaving Waco with a gold metal around your neck and an advancement to the state competition is like no other.”
