Seven SkillsUSA Students Elected as Leaders of National CTE Organization

Will Serve SkillsUSA for 2022-23 School Year

LEESBURG, Va., Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Seven career and technical education (CTE) students have been elected as SkillsUSA national officers for the 2022-23 school year. The high school and college/postsecondary students will serve as advocates for SkillsUSA and CTE and will lead two national conferences. During their year of service, they will also facilitate workshops and sessions for students and instructors, train other members, advocate on behalf of SkillsUSA to elected officials and representatives of business and industry and represent the national organization at various events.

"Each of these students has a true passion for SkillsUSA and for CTE. Through the election process, they demonstrated a deep knowledge of the SkillsUSA Framework and a work ethic that will make them great leaders to serve our members," said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA. "I look forward to working closely with this national officer team throughout the school year."

Elections were run by the SkillsUSA House of Delegates during the annual SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC) held June 20-24 in Atlanta. The student officers were elected through a formal process that concluded June 24 at the closing Awards Session of the NLSC when they were announced.

Newly elected SkillsUSA national officers for the High School division include:

President — Grace Smith, an Early Childhood Education student at Elma High School in Elma, Wash. SkillsUSA advisor: Tyler Renz.
Vice President — Joseph Price, an Architectural Drawing and Design student at Union Grove High School in McDonough, Ga. SkillsUSA advisor: Amanda McClure.
Secretary — Liliana Valencia, a Graphic Design student at Higley High School in Gilbert, Ariz. SkillsUSA advisor: John Lebsock.
Parliamentarian — Hunter Claflin, an HVACR student at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical School in Upton, Mass. SkillsUSA advisor: Robert Jordan.
Region 4 Vice President — Laney Blacketer, an Automotive Technology student at Lex-La-Ray Technical Center in Lexington, Mo. SkillsUSA advisor: Rodney Wolken.

Newly elected SkillsUSA national officers for the College/Postsecondary division include:

President — Abby Vandiver, a postsecondary Graphic Arts student at Autry Technology Center in Enid, Okla. SkillsUSA advisor: Cheryl Cooksey.
Vice President — Katahdin Javner, a Business Management student at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, Maine. SkillsUSA advisor: Cathy Crise.

To run for a national office, SkillsUSA members must first adhere to the candidate process for their school and state association. Once qualified to run for national office, candidates begin the campaign process during the national conference to student delegates representing all 50 states and three territories. The NLSC is the largest and most diverse annual showcase of skill training in the nation with over 13,000 attendees and 108 leadership and skilled trades competitions planned and managed by industry to their standards for entry-level employees in each field.

Meet the new SkillsUSA National Officer team here: https://www.skillsusa.org/about/national-officers/.

About SkillsUSA
Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of students, teachers and industry that empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. The SkillsUSA Framework of Personal, Workplace and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics inspires work and life success for students while helping industry close the skills gap currently leaving millions of skilled trade jobs unfilled. Through SkillsUSA's career competitions program and curricula, employers ensure schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA's credentialing process, they can assess the career-readiness of their future employees. SkillsUSA's membership of more than 330,000 students and instructors encompasses middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions in every state and three U.S. territories. SkillsUSA programming covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. For more information: http://www.skillsusa.org.

Media Contact

Jane DeShong Short, SkillsUSA, 703-737-0612, [email protected]

Karen Kitzel, SkillsUSA, 703-737-0607, [email protected]

SOURCE SkillsUSA