SkillsUSA is a national organization for career and technical education students that promotes personal and professional growth and offers opportunities to compete at the local, regional, state, and national levels.
CJ, a senior at MCS is interested in a career in criminal justice. She attends Capital Region BOCES Schoharie campus in the mornings to pursue her career interests. As SkillsUSA President, CJ has been making moves to get out of her comfort zone. “Personally, I have some troubles with public speaking and I figured that pushing myself into such a position would help me with issues,” she said.
At a three day leadership conference in Albany, CJ connected with other officers from around the state. “Probably the most memorable part of the conference would have to be the tour of the Capitol building in Albany, or the group of students I was paired with for the three days. They were an amazing group to be with,” she said. During the leadership training sessions, students learned about the SkillsUSA framework from their peers. It consists of personal skills, technical skills grounded by academics, and workplace skills.
SkillsUSA leaders plan community service and fundraising efforts. CJ is excited to roll up her sleeves, “We have a lot of volunteer, and donation events coming up that I can’t wait to be involved in, like our winter clothing donation box.” The winter clothing charity is set up at the Schoharie County BOCES. “We ask students to donate gently used or brand new winter clothing for people that need them,” she said, like “coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, scarfs, things that we use for the winter seasons.” After the items are collected, they are taken to the Schenectady City Mission for people in need.
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