SkillsUSA sponsor Chris Collins and six students attended the SkillsUSA conference in Augusta on Oct. 9.

The students knew they wanted to go to the conference this year to meet the people they saw in the previous years.

“I went last year because I was a district officer and I had a lot of fun, so when it came this year I was excited to go again and see all the people I knew from last year,” Kylie Voelker, junior, said.

Some attended this year’s annual conference went along in the previous years too.

“I went to a couple of other SkillsUSA conferences and competitions last year and sophomore year. So when our advisor asked us to go I did,” Vincent Fontanini, senior, said. “I have made a lot of friends in Skills, and I saw a lot of them there.”

The students have the chance to learn about certain topics, like the organization and seeing what it offers. It also helps them prepare for their futures while attending the conference because it provides topics like leadership skills.  

“I learned a lot of different things in SkillsUSA. I have learned different variations of the same core principles of SkillsUSA over my three years of being in skills,” Fontanini said.

Students have the ability to earn a statesman pin, “a pin you can get for having [and proving] knowledge about certain topics about the organization. You answer questions to state officers and if you can answer them all correctly you’re awarded the pin,”said Voelker, who earned the pin in this year’s conference. “I wanted to get my statesman pin.”

Many students could agree that they enjoyed this year’s conference, but they enjoyed previous year’s conferences a little more.

“It was fun but last year was better. Last year they combined postsecondary and secondary and made it a two-day event. There were games and free time, and it was just overall more interesting,” Voelker said.

“I did enjoy the conference, I have made a lot of friends in Skills, and I saw a lot of them there. Also learning new leadership skills is always rewarding,” Fontanini said.

SkillsUSA puts on a few competitions ranging, “Everything from prepared speech to welding sculpture,” Fontanini said.

Fontanini was well interested in the automotive technology competition, so he joined. He also joined “to expand my horizons.”

The students enjoyed attending this year, and they plan on attending next year’s conference as well.