This summer, DeKalb Technical College is taking 22 students to the national SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Mo. The students placed first in state competition in various fields, including business procedures; business, management and technology; health services; industrial and engineering technology; and entrepreneurship.
SkillsUSA is an organization of 313,000 high school and technical college students, instructors and industry professionals whose aim is to help students become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. Its applied methods of instruction and high levels of competition are dedicated to teaching students the extra skills they need to succeed in the workplace: leadership, teamwork, self-confidence, work ethic, communication, pride and life-long learning.
“We’re so proud of this year’s students. Out of the 96 possible competitions offered by SkillsUSA, our students competed in 84,” said Christine Harden, club and organization specialist at DeKalb Tech. “We encourage all students to participate in clubs like SkillsUSA, [the] Student Government Association or professional organizations like the American Design Drafting Association, because we know that they’ll gain valuable experiences. You can’t learn everything in the classroom.”
Participating in SkillsUSA gives students an opportunity to showcase their talents and work with industry leaders, which often leads to interviews and job offers, Harden said.
“Our mission as a technical college is to prepare students for the work force. This competition puts them and their skills at the forefront,” she added.
Adlai Chiddick is a double major in welding and automotive technology. He joined the Student Government Association and SkillsUSA to improve his business skills.
“Someday I want to open my own shop and I’ll need to know how to manage people and run a meeting,” Chiddick said. “It was good experience to work with students from other majors and I know it will help my career in the future. I encourage all students to get involved in extracurricular activities.”
Chiddick served as president of a mock company in the Chapter Business Procedures competition, which allowed him to learn Robert’s Rules of Order and how to conduct business meetings efficiently. His team included students in criminal justice, business administration, accounting and other fields.
For the state competition, each team member had to pass a test of several hundred questions to qualify. Then the group was presented with a mock scenario. They held a meeting, followed correct deliberative processes, and made and passed various motions to accomplish their goal.
“You prepare by practicing working within the guidelines to develop your own style,” said Florence Anderson, a member of the Chapter Business Procedures team. “Competition is your opportunity to show that you’ve got the skills, that you can meet business standards and still think outside the box and get your points across effectively when the situation calls for it.
“It was more than exciting to place first and have a chance to network and give my résumé to corporate sponsors. You never know what will come from that.”
Anderson came to DeKalb Tech to major in accounting. Like her mother, a city bookkeeper for a small town in Indiana, she has a love for figures and the order of a balance sheet. Anderson wants to run her own accounting business, so she chose the business procedures team as a way to learn a different set of business skills.
She’s also learning leadership skills by serving as president of Ladies in Action, a student group that strives to empower women on campus.
“I’m trying my best to take advantage of all the opportunities offered by my education,” Anderson said. “I have found participating in SkillsUSA to be well worth the effort I’ve put into it. I think anyone would learn from the experience, and [I] recommend that they try it.”
To learn more about SkillsUSA, go to www.skillsusa.org.
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