Skills USA

Today was our groups final volunteering day for the semester. For our third volunteering event, we decided to volunteer as judges for the high school competition SkillsUSA. This is an organization that teaches high school kids different technical skills which will allow them to succeed in the real world. Our tasks were to assist with set up, clean up, and judging various competitions. I was given the privilege of judging the job skills demonstrations. This is were the student will provide an example of an entry level job requirement in their field.

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to judge students that demonstrated talents from multiple fields including; electrician, police officer, computer tech support, hair stylist, and veterinarian. Each student provided excellent knowledge in their respective fields and I often found myself learning new skills that I have never known.

The judging was a new experience for me but it was extremely fulfilling. Seeing high school student, some of which are under 18, be able to explain and perform job functions in their chosen fields was impressive. Being able to be apart of an organization that prepares these students for success was heartwarming and I hope that they are all able to succeed. The effort and time that the students put into their presentations did not go unnoticed and the role of SkillsUSA across the nation has given numerous students the chance of success.

This volunteering was the most internally satisfying of the three that we have done. The first two, although satisfying, did not allow me to interact with the individuals that I was volunteering for. SkillsUSA let me see first hand the purpose of my time. It was inspiring to see the knowledge of these young adults and to be apart of their success.