With a major jump in the number of members compared to previous years, SkillsUSA had entered the district competition with a strong number of eager participants. SkillsUSA students were given a wide variety of options to select and dedicate themselves to, with over 20 available events to choose from. Many students were able to secure a win and advance to state– a list of all Warriors who placed can be found here.

“I participated in Web Design because I had some knowledge of Web Design, and I think that it was good to compete to see how well I could do compared to other students,” Megalian Oei ‘17 said. “Since it was a team project, we didn’t want to put all of our resources to use on just one thing, so we had to divide and conquer.”

Districts were held on three different days, one on Saturday, Jan. 21 and the other on Feb. 3-4. The competition was held in Waco, and the times of each contest varied for each designated event. Despite the varying competition times, the students all met up early in the morning to ride the charter buses as a group.

Students either running or maintaining a District Officer position were asked to arrive a day before the start of the competition. Three students, James Joh ‘19, Grace Liu ‘19, and Janice Oh ‘19 were selected as the new District Officers, summing a grand total of six students retaining officer positions. The new applicants were required to go through a very specific process that involved both a test and an interview portion.

“First, you have to fill in an application and you have to create a resume,” Oh said. “Afterwards, you have to study the entire handbook and have a written test on it, and then you go in for an interview and so the entire process was nerve-wracking.”

Once the students arrived at Texas State Technical College (TSTC), they were given the opportunity to prepare for the competition. The students, within those few precious minutes or hours, vigorously prepared themselves for their event, hoping that their efforts would payoff. For some events, the competition included two parts: a presentation and an interview. Although all members of a group were required to help build the project, certain events only allowed a single person to present and answer the questions during the interview session. For others, the event asked that all students participate in the presentation of the project.

“I am naturally confident when speaking in front of others, but other teams seemed pretty nervous,” Jessie Park ‘18 said. “Preparing for it was really stressful, but when you’re actually there, you know a lot of people so it’s just a fun time.”

While others did not have an interview or presentation portion to their event, they were required to take a written portion, such as a test, that obliged the participant to study beforehand. Some tests did not take more than an hour; others, many of which had two parts including the test, took a grand total of four hours.  

“The testing process of SkillsUSA is really fun, and it’s a really good experience because I feel that it really helps prepare for the real world,” Elisa Baxter ‘19 said. “Afterward, I was pretty tired, but honestly, with the experience itself, even though it’s stressful, it’s a learning experience. For me, everything is an opportunity to take what I have and just make the most of it.”

After all the competitions had ended, the awards ceremony took place in the afternoon. Over 50 students had qualified for the state competition, which will be taking place in Corpus Christi later this spring.