Sen. Casey met with SkillsUSA National Officers, staff and Channellock personnel on Advocacy Day during SkillsUSA Week.
Last week, we had some great chapter activities across the nation to celebrate
SkillsUSA Week. Our national officers and staff were also very busy with activities. Here is a brief synopsis of the week’s highlights.
On Monday, for Appreciation Day,
SkillsUSA North Carolina director Peyton Holland and representatives of
SkillsUSA’s lead sponsor for
SkillsUSA Week, Channellock Inc., attended a school assembly and went on a campus tour at Nash Community College in Rocky Mount, N.C.
Tuesday was Advocacy Day. Thirteen members of the national officer team, executive director Tim Lawrence and some staff started the day at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE). They were greeted by Assistant Secretary of Education Scott Stump. The OCTAE meeting was chaired by Casey Sacks, deputy assistant secretary for community colleges. Attending were U.S. Department of Education staff including Sharon Miller, Steve Brown, Craig Stanton, Richard Petty, Jim Williams and Mike Chamberlain. Also involved in the meeting were Channellock Inc. representatives including vice president Ryan DeArment, Ashley Dillon and Maryclaire Gilbert. The group talked about the
SkillsUSA Framework, credentialing through the
SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite, and
SkillsUSA as a skills gap solution. There was an update from OCTAE on Perkins V legislation funding CTE.
Next was a meeting with Laurie Rowe, senior policy advisor to Secretary Alexander Acosta, at the U.S. Department of Labor. Our group discussed credentialing through the
SkillsUSA Career Essentials suite, apprenticeship and other opportunities for CTE students. At the meeting were executive director Tim Lawrence,
SkillsUSA’s chief partnerships and development officer Amy Serafino and several
SkillsUSA national officers, as well as Channellock representatives.
Students then headed to Capitol Hill to visit Kerry McKittrick at the office of Rep. Jim Langevin (R.I.); Sam Hattrup at the office of Rep. Rob Portman (Ohio); Nick Rockwell at the office of Rep. Glenn Thompson (Pa.); and Sasha Rauch-Kelly at the office of Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.). The last legislative appointment was with Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), with whom the group had a photo opportunity and short visit. The day ended with the group celebrating over lunch and a cake fashioned in the shape of a red
SkillsUSA blazer with a black tie and white shirt.
On Thursday, for
SkillsUSA Serves Day, some of our national officers and the Channellock representatives headed to the company’s hometown of Meadville, Pa., for a school assembly and tour of Crawford County Career and Technical Center.
On Friday, for
SkillsUSA Day, a group of national officers and Channellock representatives traveled to Catawba Valley Community College in Conover, N.C., to participate in a pep rally and tour of the 80,000-square-foot Workforce Solutions Complex. At each visit, the focus was to discuss opportunities in the skilled trades and the importance of service to others, a key component of all
SkillsUSA chapters’ program of work.
To cap off the week, the
SkillsUSA staff celebrated the week on Friday with a photo in their
SkillsUSA Week shirts and a beautiful
SkillsUSA cookie cake.
To see highlights of
SkillsUSA Week in our Flickr album, go to:
www.flickr.com/photos/62244799@N08/sets/72157678379608508
