Personal Narrative: My Experience With Skillsusa

Standing on a stage with over a thousand pairs of eyes watching every second, nerves beginning to fill your stomach, and smiling from ear to ear trying to hide those nerves was what I had to do. All that can be done, at this point, was count down the time left before a single word had to be released from my mouth. The numbers three, two, one, ran like lightning through my mind, and finally, my name was called. I knew this was my time to shine. “Hello, I am Crystal Sandoval, and I want to become one of your next SkillsUSA National Officers.” My life stood still as I felt the nerves suddenly be released and transformed into words. At this point, there was no turning back, but rather share to over three hundred students from across the nation and our United States territories, what SkillsUSA has done for me. “SkillsUSA changed my life, and it has granted me the opportunity to make a difference not only in my life and in other students’ lives, but as well as making the difference in the United States of America.”

I joined SkillsUSA as a freshman in high school, merely because my audio/video production teacher asked me to. Shortly after joining the organization, I ran for district office and became SkillsUSA District 13 Chaplin; this entailed that I attend a summer leadership conference in central Texas. Upon receiving the SkillsUSA Texas Statesman Award at the SkillsUSA Texas Summer Leadership conference, many district officers, including myself, were eligible to attend a five-day national leadership conference in Washington, D.C. called the SkillsUSA Washington Leadership Training Institute (WLTI). At WLTI, students from all over the country go to a variety of leadership training sessions in preparation for their congressional visits at the U.S. House of Representatives taking place towards the end of the conference. Two students from a different school and I would visit with

Through my experience with the healthcare field, I have seen that low socioeconomic status, culture, and access are the major contributors to the health disparities today. Whether it is not being able to afford health insurance/medical costs, a culture that’s attitude and beliefs does not put much value on preventative care, or simply not having appropriate transportation to the doctor, all these factors work together against the patient. Medical professions can best tackle these issues by first knowing and understanding the needs of the population in which they practice. Theoretically, if one is aware of specific needs then those needs can be better addressed, whether they are financial or cultural needs. Also, medical professionals can work

I placed 1st in regionals, now moving on to states. The skills and knowledge that I gain from SkillsUSA have significantly helped me on tests and competencies in the Medical Assisting program. The various skills that I have attained in the Medical Assisting program will allow me to do a excellent performance in my future career. Apart from learning the correct way of helping others in various medical situations, I learn professionalism, proper etiquette and life lessons that will be used in my

First I just want to point out the obvious and say that you have an enormous heart. It must be so hard for you meeting these inmates and seeing their potential and most times seeing them revert to their old ways. I think that has to be the most painful part of it all. I know your supervisor once told you “our mission can’t be affected by individual successes or failures.”- Alice Layton. Which is what kept you going. It’s true, but it doesn’t take the sad disappointing feelings away. It’s amazing what you do, but it’s also very hard emotionally. For that I salute you. I love how invested you truly are. That fact that they feel comfortable enough to speak to you about the crimes they have committed is insane. That just goes to show how committed you are to helping them better themselves. In addition to

It took me a good twenty minutes of washing my face to reach the point where I no longer resembled a bleeding smurf. I stood at the ugly orange sink in the bathhouse scrubbing the red and blue face paint off, the hand soap burning my pores. It was a beautiful August night; my co-counselor was watching our campers back at the cabin as they went to bed. We played a game called “Goldie Rush” earlier that evening. We ran around the campgrounds in search of “gold” and whichever team returned with the most gold would win. For whatever reason it seemed like the game needed a little more, that being having our faces painted by our campers.

My field experience was in Ms. Felkins third grade classroom at Washington Elementary School. The class there are nineteen students total, nine boys and ten girls. There are two different ethnic groups in the class, four African American students and fifteen white students. Additionally, there are three students who go to a resource room throughout the day for academic instruction. One of the students goes to the resource room for thirty-minute increments throughout the day. Three students go to a small reading group each day to work on reading skills.

My motivations for joining Student Council have existed since the beginning of sophomore year, and they continually grow. At the beginning of sophomore year, I applied for sophomore at large on a whim, and doubted that I’d survive interviews. After scraping by, and being adequately shaken by a very stern interviewer, I realized how much student council meant to me. The questions I was asked caused me to think deeply about my short experience at IMSA and my entire experience in school as a whole. It was during the simulation that I knew that I wanted to be part of Student Council. I felt an adrenaline rush when I took charge of my group and began bouncing ideas off of someone who would later become one of my best friends. Running around campus with him and having people fill out our survey, and then creating a PowerPoint while not very kindly asking people to please leave us alone was thrilling. We were solving an issue, listening and learning, compiling our research, and presenting all in 2 hours. At the end of the simulation, I told a member that I needed a hug. I did my best, I was exhausted, and I still felt inadequate because the solution wasn’t completely solid. I wanted to fix it more. The drive I felt that day to help was incredible, and I’d never felt that I could make a change on campus until that day.

The career site I visit was American Job Center located at 3720 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE Washington, DC. Katrina Matthew was the lady that gave me the tour around the facility. I mate her on the main floor which is the first floor, where it computer all around the wall, which they called this area the resources room, people come in and use the computer to apply for jobs, and other resources that are needed. There was a back room we walk towards and this room is where they hold orientation, workshop, create resumes, and practice mark trail for interviews. The room was set up nice with information on the wall and a TV to show individuals about America job center. The she took me to the second floor where the case managers office is at,

At the onset, my biggest challenge was implementing a cohesive marketing strategy. Previously, Craftkari had adopted an ad-hoc approach that centered on promotion through word of mouth and local neighborhood fairs. To ease the strain on their limited resources, I actively worked to build relationships with existing brick and mortar stores and third party online retailers. Additionally, I focused on building brand awareness by capitalizing on a slew of CSR initiatives and corporate outreach programs.

As a sale professional my professionalism speaks volumes with seven years experience in some of the high scale retail environmental setting. My professionalism consists of experienced implementing specific duties/responsibilities. I started my career young not knowing this would become my pastion my first job was a store in our local mall while I was in high school. From there I fell in love with with every part of retail the customer service, helping customers find there own style, always knowing the newest trends, and meeting new people. I have a personality that could only add to your company dynamics. I'm pretty quick at coming up with solutions and a fantastic team player if there was ever a time that you needed something done in a timely

For my whole life, it seems like, I’ve been in love with acting, and animals. Ever since preschool I have been involved with dramas and musicals. Back in 2009 I discovered Richmond Civic Theatre. The first show I was in was The Nutcracker. It was the start of my acting career. Later on in highschool I discovered a program that my school offered, the Vocational Career Program. The class that most appealed to me was the Veterinary Science class. My reasoning to join this class at first, was my love for animals. Once I got accepted into the class, my views changed on what my possibilities were. I learned that this class was not just about loving animals, but also about what their purposes are, what their behavior means, how to count medication,

Today, I am working on my fifth year of active participation in SkillsUSA. As President of my state chapter, I am pushing my team to spread the word about the opportunities of our organization. I wish for my team to reach out to leaders in our communities, such as those holding a chair of public service. It is my belief that we must join forces with officials from both sides of the aisle so that we may gain awareness for SkillsUSA and better combat the “Skills Gap” as a result.

My focus group consisted of six member whose ages ranged from 19-22. Austin is a 19-year-old freshman from Overland Park, KS who has recently decided to move to Florida to work on a shrimp boat with his brother. Scott is a 20-year-old sophomore from Waconia, Minnesota who’s majoring in strategic communications. Griffin is a 20-year-old All-American soccer player from Olathe, KS who is majoring in computer engineering. Wyatt is a 19-year-old freshman from Great Bend, KS who is a pre-law major. Jake is a 21-year-old junior from Leawood, KS who is majoring in mechanical engineering. Lastly, Nathan is a 22-year-old senior from Wichita, KS who is double majoring in finance and accounting. This diverse group of guys had great conversations that allowed

In Canada, there has been a shortage of manpower in the skilled trades for many years. This shortage, has created a substantial increase in wages for those in the skilled trades, and thus a viable career path for those who wish to work primarily with their hands. Although many do not think of automotive mechanics when they think of skilled trades, they are included in the grouping. Automotive mechanics are an essential part of our functioning society, as there are over a billion cars driving on the earth at any given time. The goal of this paper, is to understand the thought processes, and issues facing people in the skilled trades, which university students and professors may not be aware of.