2024 SkillsUSA State Conference scheduled

Clinton’s students just some of the more than 1,500 competing this year

The 51st annual SkillsUSA Wisconsin State Leadership and Skills Conference will be held in Madison on Tuesday, April 9 through Wednesday, April 10. Competitions will take place at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, and Madison Area Technical College (MATC), 1701 Wright St. The Opening and Awards ceremonies will take place in the Alliant Energy Center’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum while the competitions will be held in the Exhibition Hall as well as at Madison College.

The Clinton High School SkillsUSA Wisconsin chapter will be competing at the conference this year, and consists of the following students:
• Juniors: Dominic McFarlin, Oliver Melson, Shaunte Santiago
• Sophomores: Neva Clarke, Joe Collins, Brooklyn Gross, Rachel Hendrickson, Maria Rangel, Connor Whalen

Maria Rangel, Shaunte Santiago, and Rachel Hendrickson, one of two Team Engineering teams for Clinton, participate in the UW-Stout contest earlier in the season. (Submitted photo)

One of the school’s Team Engineering teams consists of Neva Clarke, Brooklyn Gross and Oliver Melson; they placed first at a District competition and the UW-Stout Regional. They’re looking to carry that momentum to this State contest.

Clinton’s state team this year will be made up of Joe Collins and Connor Whalen participating in Welding; Maria Rangel in Photography; Dominic McFarlin in Woodworking Display and Cabinetmaking; and Neva Clarke, Brooklynn Gross, and Oliver Melson in the Team Engineering Challenge.

The 2024 conference will feature more than 1,500 middle, high school, and college/post-secondary students, over 200 teachers, and more than 300 industry volunteers working in more than 80 competitions, including:
• 3D Printing and Design
• Action Skills
• Additive Manufacturing
• Advertising Design
• American Spirit
• Architectural Drafting/CAD
• Audio/Radio Production
• Automated Manufacturing Technology
• Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair
• Automotive Service Technology
• Barbering
• Broadcast News Production
• Cabinetmaking
• Carpentry
• Chapter Display
• CNC Milling Technology
• CNC Turning
• CO2 Dragster
• Collision Damage Appraisal
• Collision Repair Technology
• Commercial sUAS Drones
• Community Service
• Computer Programming
• Cosmetology
• Crime Scene Investigation
• Criminal Justice
• Culinary Arts*
• Customer Service
• Diesel Equipment Technology
• Digital Cinema Production
• Electrical Construction Wiring
• Electronics Technology
• Engineering Technology/Design
• Entrepreneurship
• Extemporaneous Speaking
• Facilithon
• First Aid/CPR
• Industrial Robotics
• Information Service Technology
• Job Interview
• Job Skill Demonstration A
• Job Skill Demonstration Open
• Marine Service Technology
• Masonry
• Mechatronics
• Medical Math
• Medical Terminology
• Model Rocketry
• Motorcycle Service Technology
• Opening and Closing Ceremonies
• Photography
• Pin Design
• Power Equipment Technology
• Precision Machining Technology (CNC Technician)
• Prepared Speech
• Promotional Bulletin Board
• Related Technical Math
• Robotics and Automation
• Robotics: Urban Search and Rescue
• Screen Printing Technology
• Sheet Metal
• Team Engineering Challenge
• TeamWorks
• Technical Drafting
• Television (Video) Production
• T-Shirt Design
• Web Design
• Welding
• Welding Fabrication
• Welding Sculpture
• Woodworking Display
*competition was held at Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee on March 15

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 9, with competition set up and event briefings held throughout the day. The State Championships will commence April 10 at 7:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. All contests are conducted under the direction of industry experts, trade associations, and labor organizations, testing competencies that are set to industry standards.

The Closing Ceremony, including the presentation of awards, will start at 6:30 p.m. The first-place winners will go on to compete in the National SkillsUSA Championships, June 24-28 in Atlanta, Ga.

The public is encouraged to attend the SkillsUSA Wisconsin State Championships for free.

Founded in 1973, SkillsUSA Wisconsin, with more than 2,300 members in over 140 chapters, is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has the skilled workforce needed to stay competitive. The diverse talent pipeline covers 120 trades, technical, and skilled service occupations, the majority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related.

More than 200 corporations, trade associations, businesses, and labor unions actively support SkillsUSA Wisconsin. Programs are integrated into career and technical education through a framework of personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and other workplace credentials.

Helping each student excel and a solution to shrinking the skills gap, SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations.

SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of framework skills that include personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. The SkillsUSA mission is built upon – and its success depends on – the commitment of members and partners to the following values: integrity, respect, responsibility, citizenship, and service.

For more information on the SkillsUSA Wisconsin State Leadership and Skills Conference, visit www.skillsusa-wi.org or email wisconsinskillsusa@gmail.com.