(ATLANTA, Georgia) – Students representing six of Texas State Technical College’s 11 campuses have taken part this week in the 2024 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
More than 40 students from the Abilene, Harlingen, Marshall, North Texas, Sweetwater and Waco campuses arrived on Monday, June 24, and early Tuesday, June 25, in Atlanta to compete against the nation’s best in events such as Additive Manufacturing, Carpentry, Dental Assisting, Prepared Speech, and TeamWorks. Faculty members serving as advisors traveled with the students.
The students became eligible to represent Texas by placing high enough at the SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference held in April in Houston.
Orientations and contests began Tuesday, June 25, and ended Thursday, June 27, at the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni Atlanta Hotel.
Miguel Reyes, of Waco, competed in the two-day Plumbing contest. He used copper tubing to rough-in hot and cold lines and tested the pressure in water pipes, along with other required tasks. Reyes graduated earlier this year from TSTC’s Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology program in Waco.
Reyes said he enjoyed competing on a serious level while having new experiences.
“I’m looking forward to that medal,” he said.
Jordan Walters, of Texarkana, represented TSTC’s Marshall campus in the Telecommunications Cabling contest. Some of the skills he performed included installing jacks and testing fiber optics. Walters graduated earlier this year from TSTC’s Cybersecurity program.
Walters, who flew for the first time ever while traveling to Georgia, said he was eager for the experience to compete on a nationwide level, but said winning a medal would be nice also.
The conference’s electrifying opening ceremony was held Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. The keynote speaker was Cory James, a Georgia native and anchor at DC News Now in Washington, D.C. Students attended the Champions Festival on Wednesday evening, June 26, at Centennial Olympic Park.
The conference concludes with the awards ceremony at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 28, at State Farm Arena.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1965 teaching employability, leadership, and technical skills that can help middle school, high school and college students pursue successful careers and be part of a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA has more than 100 leadership and technical competitions.
For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
