“If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Back in April, twelve members from the Lawrence County Chapter of SkillsUSA felt the sweet taste of success as the felt the gold state medal on their necks. After months and months of skill preparation, candy and meat stick sales, and planning, their time had finally come; however, there was still more to do. Nationals was just around the corner, and they needed to step up their game.

For one Electrical Occupation graduate, it had been a goal made the year before. “After seeing my scores, I knew what needed to be done to see success this year,” stated Walter McKnight, currently employed by Bruce & Merrilees. “I made that goal after states last year, and this year, met it.” Now it was time for Walter to take the next step to the next level. “I got a chance to meet so many people including the Executive Director of SkillsUSA Chelle Travis” who presented him and his two teammates with an Executive Director trading pin. “I knew Nationals was a big deal,” he states, “but I was a little surprised at how big it actually was!”

Walter’s sister, Elia, also an EO graduate, understood what going to Nationals meant as this was her second year, but this time, she was leading the Opening and Closing Team as President. “In the months prior,” Elia states, “I knew we needed to do everything we could to make sure we had no regrets. As a group, we analyzed the scores from the previous years and put our focus on maintaining what was working and where we felt we could improve. We reworked a few ways we executed our movements and delivered our lines, but there was more — we worked together to form a ‘second family’ together. When it was time to board the bus, we gave it our all and were are ready as we would ever be.”

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As a veteran member of the O & C team, Katherine Tillia (Commercia Art, Ellwood) also knew what it took to get to the “big show” and actively worked to put together study materials for the Professional Development test for the entire National team. She continued to work on her own speeches — each time bringing something more to her thought for the day — and worked with Elia to create videos to assist members. “Okay — sure, I can make that happen” was her response to every request made. Katie was and has always been a team player.

Ashley Cwynar, a Computer and Office Technology senior from New Castle, made it her goal to get the most out of this opportunity that she could, and she certainly met this goal — fully engaging in every opportunity every moment of the day. “I’m ready to do my best, but I’m ready to learn a lot, too,” she stated on the first day of competition, and that she did, even to the point of donning a red-white-and-blue lei and a blinking pair of futuristic glasses for opening ceremonies. At closing ceremonies, Pennsylvania wasn’t called to the final three to receive medals, but that didn’t matter; she made the most if her experience. Ashley Cwynar was, in her words, “just happy to be here . . . and I’m super-excited for my friends to medal.”

Our three seniors weren’t the only ones to embrace this week's events. Our single sophomore made the most of every moment in, as well. She took a chance back in August when she decided to go for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies team — not fully realizing what SkillsUSA was all about, but she took a literal leap of faith and decided to give it her all. Attending every after-school practice and volunteering to be a part of the very first team of Eagle Anchors doing video announcements, Hope Franklin (Restaurant Trades, New Castle) grew from trial and error and trial again and allowed her light to shine from within during performances and competition. “I wish I could have persuaded more of my friends to join SkillsUSA;” she shares. “I think they would have really enjoyed it because I certainly have!” Making new friends is a certain bonus. We were happy to travel on a shared bus from the northwestern Pennsylvania section on a map; she met Bella — an awesome SkillsUSA buddy. Though Hope has enjoyed her time with the O & C team, she currently has her sights set on something more. “Guys — you know I love you,” she stated at the final night practice before the final round, “but I have something I want to share with you. I won’t be competing with you next year . . . “ This worried the team a bit, but one second later, she gushed, “. . . because I’m going to begin my campaign to run for the SkillsUSA Pennsylvania State Officer!” At this news, the team raised their hands and cheered for her, knowing she’d do a great job. Sometimes — it’s more about celebrating an individual’s choices than worrying about who will be on the team next year.

The other eight members of the LawCo SkillsUSA National Team are juniors which means they have another year to experience competition on a district, state, and national level.

Creating a list of note-worthy accomplishments from her first two years as a Health Assistant student was a somewhat simple task for Joy Hudspath (Health Assistant, Ellwood); her instructor, Mr. Pavia, also a SkillsUSA Advisor and chaperone on the trip runs a top-notch program. The only issue at first was that Joy wasn’t into public speaking; however, with a lot of practice, a lot of patience with herself, and a lot of determination to use the feedback from her teachers and her scorecards, Joy presented herself as a worthy opponent against the dozens of others from across the nation and three territories. Her advice to anyone thinking about joining SkillsUSA is, “DO IT! It’s one of the best experiences you’ll ever have. Don’t let your doubts stop you; shoot for the stars!”

Justin Cameron (Electrical Occupations, Ellwood) aspires to enter the Electrical Union when he graduates next year. However, over his final year at LCCTC, he’s simply up for learning as much as possible. He hopes to return to nationals next year. “Hard work pays off,” Justin advises, “because my experience competing with the best-of-the-best at NLSC was super cool and very fun!” In addition to practicing for competition before leaving for Atlanta, Justin stepped outside of his comfort zone to write the required essays required to earn the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Travel Scholarship that helps offset travel expenses. Justin is one of those teammates who was willing to do what it took to reach his goals and help his teammates, now friends.

It took Aaliyah Kinney (Electrical Occupations, Ellwood) a long time to warm up to the idea of joining the O & C team; the thought of speaking in public and wearing heels and a skirt was almost too much to fathom for this Electrical Occupations student. “I’ll be on the team just to get you through districts, but you’ll have to pick up another member after that” was the agreement. However, once she earned her pearls, a long-running team tradition that dates back at least eight years, she was forever connected, and her tears were proof of that. Watching Riley earn her pearls on the first official night of NLSC before presenting to the entire Pennsylvania team of national competitors and their advisors — the largest in-person audience the O & C team has presented in front of — was just as sweet because she understood all it took to earn them and the special meaning there was behind them. By the way, if anyone could have earned a second set of pearls during the week, it would have been Aaliyah. During both the first and final rounds of the competition, she delivered a flawless performance and successfully conquered her biggest nemesis, the level of her voice. She was no longer the “quiet one!” Great job Aaliyah!

Madison Werner (Neshannock), who studies Health Assistant, had been instrumental prior to the trip. Using her ability to sort, organize, and see ahead to what needed to be done next, she was the listmaker, the organizer, the one who sorted and helped with list after list. Though this would be her first time experiencing it, she carefully packed each bag with the properly sized jackets, checked for proper uniform items, and even gathered and organized all of the fun extras that had been collected to make the most of opening ceremony night. “What else can I do?” was her motto in the weeks prior, and as the anchor of the O & C team, she was the solid constant that set the tone and movements for the rest who competed.

Who would have known that Gabbie Treece (Veterinary Assistant, Union) would shine in not one but two events during the week? During the O & C competition, Gabbie put caramel in her voice, moved with grace, and stood straight and tall like a mighty oak. Luckily, her time hunched over caring for canines in her Veterinary Assistant shop paid off during the Complete the Cycle service project. The LawCo SkillsUSA team joined about 200 SkillsUSA students on the final day of the week to assemble bikes for children in the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of Atlanta and the Shaquille O’Neil Foundation. On this day when she should have been exhausted from the week of hard work, late night dinner, and a slight amount of healthy stress, Gabbie was there — wrench in hand, pitching in and making it happen with her team members. She was amazing.

One member ended up being more valuable than initially planned. Riley Barge, Veterinary Assistant, was called upon as a last-minute alternate for O & C just a meager six days before leaving to head to Atlanta. As a state silver medalist in a public speaking competition and attending a few after-school practices that included exercises with walking and timing, she had a good idea of what she was getting herself into, but when she was officially asked to step up into the position of treasurer, she never hesitated — instead, pushing her self-doubt aside and deciding to go for it. This positive, can-do attitude coupled with the gratitude of the rest of the team made the transition into her position a lot easier than if the team had taken the hits in points without a member — in fact, the veterans wrapped their heads around Riley’s efforts as, “Everything she does — even just being there in the seat,” explains their coach, English teacher Lyn McVicker, adds points,” so everything Riley can do correctly, '“is just ‘sprinkles on the top!” That seemed to take the pressure off Riley and help the team understand that they should do all they can to help her reach her full potential. For three days, Riley memorized multiple paragraphs of text. It wasn’t just enough to regurgitate word-for-word, though. She must deliver these speeches with precise timing and natural gestures. Riley must also learn the patterns of walking, sitting, standing, and turning so that the end result was “in a similar fashion” according to the scope. By the time she met with Elia and Katie, Riley had already exceeded expectations, but there was much more to do, and over the next three days, she worked with the entire team and had a private session to gain the confidence needed to step on the bus. In addition to all of this, she used study guides prepared and studies by the team over the course of the past year to take a Professional Development Test which would be combined with the rest of the team as a significant portion of their overall score. Without any pun intended, in short, Riley ROCKED it all, and her efforts paid off.

Elia says it best: "When we needed her most, Riley stepped up to the task. Few people could have accomplished what she did, pouring her heart and soul into learning a year's worth of training in a week. All in all, there's no one else that could have filled the role like Riley; not only was she incredible in competition, but she was so positive and just fun to be around outside of it. My only regret was not having her on the team sooner."

Our final LawCo Nationals Team member will remain in the minds of both her state and national judges for two reasons: her outstanding performance and the topic of her demonstration speech. It’s nothing for Mara Hull and her friends in the Veterinary Assistant shop to end their day covered in hair, drool, and other unknown animal-“goo”. She began her speech with a dad joke, demonstrated the process for testing fecal samples, ended it with a poignant quote from Mike Rowe, and had the judges in stitches with her dry humorous approach to a necessary evil. In the end, she was the first to find herself being called to the stage to receive a medal.

Just a few moments later, seven sets of hands from the O & C team (and possibly strangers who sat around them as well) gripped each other, eyes perched on the bottom of the jumbotron hanging from the ceiling in hopes of seeing the shape of Pennsylvania displayed as a medalist. Screams of joy followed and soon, our school was returning with eight bronze medals.

Would it have been nice to return with twelve medals? Sure — but over the course of this week, the Lawrence County CTC SkillsUSA National Team could have returned with nothing and would have still smiled over all they gained.

“This was one of the best trips yet,” advisor Vince Pavia stated. “The students were amazing, and their attitude and approaches to what needed to be done — including early start times and late night meetings, to struggle and adversity, to changes in plans — was amazing.”

“I join our administration, Director Leonard Rich and Principal Diana Ciazza, and head advisors, Christina Weisenstein and John Goebel, is saying that we are incredibly proud of all of our kids in SkillsUSA at Lawrence County CTC — but especially in this group who attended the National Championships.”

“It was certainly a banner year,” exclaims Rich as this was the largest crew of national competitors and the most medals we’re bringing home.

Congratulations to our Lawrence County CTC SkillsUSA National Competitors for an incredible week. You are in the top 3% of the nation, and there is so much to celebrate about that! A special congratulations to the medalists; we wish you all success in the future and look forward to seeing what next year’s students will learn and accomplish!