The NC SkillsUSA chapter attended the state conference on March 23 to 25, placing in 17 competitions while taking home over 30 individual medals, the most in NC history.

“I had a lot of fun going on the trip and competing in something I actually care about,” junior Josh Dawson said. “It was cool to put myself and my work out there to compete against others from all over the state.”

The members arrived at the Georgia International Convention Center, immediately making their way to take the Personal Development Program (PDP) test. The PDP outlines SkillsUSA knowledge every member should know, including the motto and basic principles of the program. Along with the PDP, some members took a knowledge test depending on what competition they planned to compete in.

That night, all schools attended the opening ceremony. The SkillsUSA state officers introduced speakers to discuss their experiences with Skills, as well as motivational pieces for competitors.

On Friday, the competitions began. With over 100 competitions to choose from, NC competed in arenas such as plumbing, broadcast news production, early childhood education, and construction blueprint reading. Once all competitions ended, members enjoyed a dance to celebrate all the hard work they put in.

“There’s only one gold, so competing against people who all want one medal is highly stressful and competitive,” junior Sam Wender said.

This year, NC earned more medals than ever before, with a total of eight bronze, five silver, and 20 gold; 78 percent of the NC chapter placed in their respective competitions. NC will send 14 students to the national conference in Louisville, KY this summer, three more than the past seven years combined. 

“It felt like a dream come true. Knowing all the effort I put into this competition and it came out with a good reward,” junior Turner Markwalter said.

The next round, the national conference, will take place from June 17 to 24.