SkillsUSA Conference a Competitive Thrill

The SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Competition, held April 9 and 10 in Madison, is a big draw for students looking to test their skills. The only requirement is a competitive spirit, and that was on full view among the more than 1,500 students, who participated in over 75 contests.

The Giang twins, Nicholas and Matias, were in the thick of it. Now seventh-graders at Waunakee Community Middle School, the two have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition that causes muscle weakness and loss, but that did not stop them from taking part in the Team Engineering Challenge. Nicholas took home the gold medal in the CO2 Dragster Challenge,

an engineering challenge that calls on competitors to build a dragster within specific weight and size limits and is launched using a cartridge of compressed CO2 gas.

Waunakee SkillsUSA Advisor Dave Burgard said the boys pitch in like everybody else, and Nicholas got some tips on his dragster at the mid-state regional competition that helped him redesign his car and snag the gold medal at the state level.

Other attendees competed in architecture and construction, transportation, manufacturing, STEM, arts, audio/video technology, health science, hospitality and tourism, information technology, leadership, and more!

SkillsUSA Wisconsin has more than 2,200 members in over 130 chapters in the state. As with all career and technical student organizations (CTSOs), SkillsUSA complements technical skill training with instruction in the employability skills that make a well-rounded worker and citizen. Programs emphasize high ethical standards, superior work skills, lifelong education, and pride.