Oct. 17, 2022 - Phil Patterson and Joanne Fisher, South Tech Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) advisors, held an ice cream social for students to inform them about SkillsUSA. SkillsUSA is an organization that hosts district, state, and national competitions for technical education students. There are nearly 100 different categories, which include nurse assisting, extemporaneous speaking, T-shirt design, plumbing, carpentry, and more. The goal is to empower students to become world class workers, leaders, and responsible citizens. 

“Every year, we gather students from all the programs and talk about SkillsUSA,” said Fisher. “Our students learn skills that can be used outside the classroom and we want them to show those off. The competitions give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned to industry workers, not just their parents and teachers.” 

Students are encouraged to participate to build confidence, explore career paths, network with peers, and of course, have fun. To qualify,  students need to have a resume, attendance of at least 90%, join South Tech’s Google classroom, have no out of school suspensions, and have no more than two disciplinary actions. 

“Skills is really important to our school because we are a CTE school and this is our way of demonstrating what our students can do,” said Patterson. “It’s a way for students to show their competency.” 

Scholarships of up to $2,500 are awarded to students who place on the district, state, and national level. This is what caught the attention of junior cosmetology student, Gabriyale Flenoid. 

“The presentation was very informative,” said Flenoid. “I do plan on going to college, so a scholarship would help a lot.” 

Gianna Fraraccio, a junior digital arts student, is considering participating and says it sounds like an opportunity that would benefit her future. Students have until early November to decide if they would like to compete. The district competition is held in February. The state competition is held in April and the national competition is held in June in Atlanta. In 2022, three South Tech students competed on a national level.