SkillsUSA

Minuteman SkillsUSA Chapter

This webpage was made by students to detail and showcase SkillsUSA and its Minuteman Regional High School Chapter. For more information, please reach out to our staff advisor Ms. D'Ambrosia. 

What is SkillsUSA?

SkillsUSA is a national group that strives to teach workplace, personal, and technical skills to students of all levels across the country in order to prepare them to be outstanding citizens, contributing to the community and the workplace. Aside from skills for the individual, SkillsUSA works with chapters and regions to expand and create community service efforts, instilling a drive for a better world.

The SkillsUSA framework  promotes Workplace and Personal Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics. This framework outlines the essentials for success in workplace and career development.

In order to help individuals work on and develop these essentials, SkillsUSA offers a variety of courses (ages 12 to 20+) — Career Essentials: https://www.careeressentials.org/

For students who wish to showcase their skills and their technical aptitude, SkillsUSA holds local, regional, state, and national competitions that cover a variety of focuses. Here at Minuteman, we offer over 70 different competitions. These competitions span across all grades, and Freshmen even have some additional exclusive competitions. Freshmen Only Events start at States, and include Career Choice Commentary, Sticker Design, and more. There’s a heavy emphasis on preparing for competition based off of the competition specification document, which competitors receive after registering. Minuteman has a history of participating and excelling in the Leadership and Traditional Trade competitions at all levels. Please download this document for more extensive information about competing.

SkillsUSA strives towards a better community across the nation. SkillsUSA Massachusetts has adopted Be Like Brit Foundation Inc. as an official charity. This exciting partnership began in October of 2010 with the commitment of 450 students and teachers to take on the challenge of raising funds and awareness in support of the foundation. Since 2010, SkillsUSA Massachusetts has raised more than $75,000 for the Be Like Brit Foundation. Their orphanage in Haiti, built in honor of the late Britney Gengel, a Massachusetts native, houses 66 children and plans to grow with help from organizations like SkillsUSA MA. Britney Gengel passed during a community service mission trip that got caught in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

To learn more about the Be Like Brit foundation, visit: https://www.belikebrit.org

SkillsUSA’s members continue to be involved in community service across the world. One of the goals of the organization is to help bring awareness to issues that members can work on, as well as to encourage individuals to identify issues in their own community, evaluate them, and effectively plan and act to help alleviate them.

Events and Promotions

State Competitions: Blackstone Regional High School and Virtual - Begin 04/14, End 04/30

 

Applications 

• Community Service/Volunteering - Volunteer Form
• Leadership Interest - Leadership Form

SkillsUSA Minuteman Chapter

Minuteman has been an active chapter of SkillsUSA for decades, with students consistently winning competitions at all levels, taking charge in leadership positions, and coming together to contribute to communities and those in need. As a member of the SkillsUSA Total Participation Plan (TPP), all Minuteman students are automatically enrolled in SkillsUSA and are entitled to its benefits and encouraged to participate.

• Dylan Higgins (’22) – President
• Trinity Choroszej (’22) – Vice President
• Henry Blackburn (’22)– Reporter
• Nathan Lubets (’23) – Treasurer
• Cole Traywick (’23)– Ambassador
• Camille White (’24) – Secretary
• Alima Salahuddin (’24) – Community Service Coordinator
• Annie Brosnan (’23) – Fundraising Director
   

Chapter Competition Achievements:

Over the years, students have medaled at all levels of competitions at SkillsUSA. Since 2005, Minuteman has received 70 medals at Nationals (22 gold, 38 silver, 20 bronze).

In 2019-2020 school year, 21 out of 44 students who participated at Districts received a medal (12 gold, 2 silver, 7 bronze). Normally, gold and silver medalists would continue onto States but unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, States and Nationals were both cancelled in 2020.

At States in 2018, a Minuteman freshman was awarded the gold medal in Career Choice Commentary.

Community Service:

At Minuteman, SkillsUSA members have participated in a variety of community service projects. A couple of the larger projects have been trips to New Orleans and Puerto Rico.

In New Orleans and Puerto Rico, SkillsUSA members volunteered with Minuteman’s Interact Community Service Club to restore, recover, and refurbish homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The group went for a week to each place and worked with The St. Bernard Project (SBP) on moving materials, painting sections of the houses, and assisting with electrical wiring and carpentry.

 

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]:

Q: What are the qualifications for SkillsUSA competitions?

A: The specific requirements for competitions depend on the competition of interest, but competitions are available to all students regardless of academic level and school engagement. There are also basic tests for some shops because of the background knowledge required for their competitions.

Q: Who all is involved in SkillsUSA?

A: SkillsUSA has student members from all walks of life with different interests and focuses. Just as vocational majors are vastly different, so too are the people involved. A bonding commonality can be found in the ideals of SkillsUSA. Aside from students, there are businesses and alumni that are actively involved too. Businesses and alumni help with the management and logistics of SkillsUSA and work closely with students to achieve common goals and create a strong community.

Q: Is competition intimidating?

A: The competition can be intimidating, but everyone at SkillsUSA is welcoming and friendly, and even though you compete against each other, you make new friends the whole time. Especially if you’re entering SkillsUSA as a freshman, you will soon realize everyone is in the same boat as you and are learning as they go.

Q: Can Freshmen only compete in Leadership competitions?

A: There are a variety of competitions for Freshmen aside from Leadership, including sticker, t-shirt, and logo design competitions, technical skills presentations, skill showcases, and more. Check the competition document attached in the What is SkillsUSA? section for more specifics.

Q: Is everything hostile at competitions because of winning/losing, or no?

A: People at SkillsUSA competitions are all there to compete and test their own skills, so there is an immense level of support for everyone else competing. Even between students competing against one another, there is a level of maturity and respect between competitors. This respect creates a welcoming environment for everyone involved.

Q: How big is SkillsUSA?

A: SkillsUSA’s demographics nationwide include:

• 53 state and territorial associations
• 13.6 million annual members total since 1965
• 650 national partners –– businesses, trade associations and unions
• More than 19,000 classrooms conducting SkillsUSA training nationwide
• Thousands of community service activities each year

Q: What does participation look like due to Covid?

A: As far as competitions go, each chapter is tackling the challenge of Covid-19 with their own adaptations. Here at Minuteman, competitions are primarily online, with few exceptions. State and National events will also try to adapt and allow for the majority of activities to happen online; however, not all will be able to do so, and will require in-person participation. Please discuss further questions about specifics with your CTE teacher and chapter advisors. For general participation, the Minuteman chapter is currently looking into community service opportunities online, and actively finding safe ways to conduct fundraising online and in-person. If interested in helping out, please see the Applications section above.

Q: Where does SkillsUSA take place?

A: SkillsUSA has competitions in-house as well as in districts, along with state and national competitions. Each year, the specific locations change. SkillsUSA also has a variety of other events such as community service projects that are conducted in different places each year as well. For the most part, fundraising takes place in Minuteman; however, there are exceptions. Check the Events section for more information or get in contact with the chapter!

Q: What is the level of commitment?

A: The level of commitment depends on how you want to participate: the volunteer roles are, of course, voluntary, and commitment is truly up to you; a member role will require involvement in Chapter-wide meetings and discussions over the course of the year; a leadership role will require weekly participation, planning, management, and project work.