Life can change in an instant, as former SkillsUSA member Brad Lang knows. The decorated Marine has used his own life’s path to create a new career and to support other injured service members. The two-time SkillsUSA national medalist was always a standout. As a high school student in Michigan, he studied CNC (computer numerical…
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Did you hear the one about the woman who went straight from commercial fishing to working at a state legislature? Or from the governor’s mansion to a five-star restaurant across the country to a small-town school? And if those tales don’t give you whiplash, how about a dash of roller derby? Each of these are…
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The best teachers show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see. Instructor Jason McCuish hopes you’ll look at his amazing pupils and see for yourself how impressive they are. While McCuish likes to keep the focus on students at Lynn (Mass.) Vocational Technical Institute (LVTI), he earned his own time in…
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For Justin Jackson and Marquis Thomas, getting into robotics led to a lot more than a gold medal in their state SkillsUSA competition. It gave them a whole new outlook on education. “Just as long as I was passing the class, that’s all that mattered to me” until mentor and robotics coach Robert Lorenzo “changed…
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Soon after being elected a SkillsUSA national officer, Zachary Ferguson was asked about the benefits this new experience might bring. “SkillsUSA is building me up to become what I can be,” he replied, “and what I have the potential to become.” The Hudson, N.C., student may not have realized it at the time, but he…
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Wonder Woman. Supergirl. Virginia Mata. The last of these may look out of place, but what else besides superpowers can explain how this petite young woman keeps doing the impossible? Even before high school graduation, Mata demonstrated that she could speed up the clock, earning enough credits for an associate’s degree (now 19, she’s already…
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Step-siblings since kindergarten, Victoria Slagle and Tanner Hicks have always been raised as twins. It’s fitting, then, that their achievements in SkillsUSA have been similarly impressive. Hicks, a 2009 national gold medalist in Power Equipment Technology, bested 2,000 elite applicants for a full scholarship to Nashville Auto-Diesel College. Winning it depended on aptitude test scores…
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What’s your idea of perfect presidential material? A proven leader, from a large state like Texas, perhaps? Or maybe a candidate who’s tall, athletic and charismatic? How about a former actor? The 2003-04 president of SkillsUSA’s high school division meets all those qualifications. But unfortunately, due to a document called the Constitution, it’ll be 18…
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Tyler Brown is interested in all things aviation, especially avionics. “I like aviation, I like electronics. Why not do both?” he explains. The SkillsUSA champion in Aviation Maintenance Technology already had two job offers before graduating from Burlington (Vt.) Technical Center. But this past summer, he decided to combine his love of aviation plus electronics…
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The U.S. Army taught Tony Hamblin more than one set of skills. But after nearly 21 years of service, he was ready to leave the military and give civilian life a try. The transition wasn’t a simple one. After going to work for a security company, Hamblin realized he wasn’t doing what he really wanted.…
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