Members of the SkillsUSA team from Worcester Technical High School are pictured at last month’s state competition in Westminster.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

After a successful run at their state competition, Worcester Technical High School’s SkillsUSA participants are gearing up for the national contest, where the students will display their real-world abilities as they compete against peers from across the country.

This June, over 20 Worcester Tech students will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, for the week-long SkillsUSA national competition in various categories, including TeamWorks and Opening and Closing.

SkillsUSA is a workforce development organization with chapters scattered in schools across the United States. The program allows students to master hands-on occupational skills and focus on career readiness. SkillsUSA prioritizes teamwork, communication, professionalism, and leadership to ensure success beyond high school.

“They are doing adult work and doing it a lot better than a lot of adults that I know,” WTHS Principal Tony Bevilacqua said of his school’s SkillsUSA students.

According to Worcester Tech SkillsUSA advisor Rick Stephens, 89% of the school’s 79 participants placed in the Maryland competition’s top 10, 73% placed in the top five, and 57% placed in the top three.

Additionally, the local skills group boasted over 20 first-place winners across categories like Medical Math, Robotics and Automation Technology, TeamWorks, Opening and Closing, Technical Computer Application, Related Technical Math, Robotics Urban Search and Rescue, Pin Design, and Extemporaneous Speaking.

The first-place winners and WTHS’s two SkillsUSA Maryland State Officers will attend the country-wide competition from June 22 to 28. As such, the tech school is looking to raise approximately $100,000 to cover hotel stays, flights, registration fees, and food, in addition to other necessary costs.

Stephens added that an additional mobile robotics silver medalist team would represent Maryland at nationals, as the gold medalists from another district cannot attend.

The national championship will allow local students to showcase their skills on the big stage.

The WTHS young learners heading to the summer contest will compete in several categories, including the collaborative program known as TeamWorks. TeamWorks consists of groups of four, each specializing as either a carpenter, a plumber, a mason, or an electrician, as they work together to produce a construction project.

Aidan Parks, Kathie Maldonado, Tyler Kulyk, and Destin Duncan took gold in the Team Works competition. Students had to demonstrate precise carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and masonry skills in this highly competitive match up.

Worcester Tech students Aidan Parks, Kathie Maldonado, Tyler Kilyk, and Destin Duncan placed first in last month’s Maryland championship. Now, the group is preparing to advance to the next level.

“[TeamWorks] is supposed to imitate building a house and all the parts of building a house,” said Duncan, the team’s plumber. “It’s called TeamWorks because you do work as a team … I can’t do my plumbing unless [the carpenter] has the wood up, and I have to help him with the wood, so I had to cross-train to assist him…It gives you real-world obstacles and teaches you how to overcome them.”

The student added that, as a member of Worcester Tech’s state-awarded TeamWorks group, the skills he gained will last a lifetime.

“The more you put in, the more you get out of it,” Duncan continued. “I will never forget how to plumb.”

The students emphasize that SkillsUSA is a beneficial program that prepares them for their careers beyond high school graduation.

Heydein Flores, among the students representing the Opening and Closing category at the June championship, said that the skills learned will aid in occupational environments. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies evaluate a seven-member team on their ability to open and close a proceeding, ceremony or formal gathering professionally.

“The thing about [SkillsUSA] is that there are so many different competitions that for whatever pathway you do, whatever your skill is, there is a competition to match it,” Flores said. “As for our team, we are practicing professionalism … even in general competitions where you’re speaking, you’re learning how to prepare yourself for the workplace.”

Bevilacqua added that the Opening and Closing program will help the juveniles advance their careers and take on roles requiring them to conduct meetings, like a town’s planning and zoning commission.

“[SkillsUSA] is a student organization that when students join, they do stuff because they have to train, they have to compete,” the principal said. “Everybody here has learned something they can carry to the next level at college and beyond. This is the most real-world club that a student can join.”

Stephens sits on the SkillsUSA Maryland Board of Directors. The educator maintained that he sees programs throughout the state as part of this role. Yet, he said that nothing compares to Worcester Tech.

“No other kids can match our kids,” he noted. “Our kids are just awesome. We are very lucky.”

A hybrid team of students from Nursing, Cosmology, Computer Science and Pre-Engineering are pictured with their gold medal.

The advisor added that the school’s support plays a part in the program’s success.

“Our staff here is amazing,” he said. “All the teachers and advisors help get [the SkillsUSA students] ready. They miss a lot of class time once in a while to get ready, especially during states. [The teachers] help them keep their grades up and are very supportive of them.”

In an effort to ensure the championship run continues in Georgia, the team is seeking donations to cover the nearly $100,000 cost of attending the national championship. To donate, call the tech school at 410-632-5050 or email wths@worcesterk12.org for a donation link page.