Willow Street, PA – Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) sent our three SkillsUSA teams to the 2024 Fall Leadership Workshop for SkillsUSA Pennsylvania, Central Region, on Nov. 13 through Nov. 15. The event offered students leadership seminars, networking opportunities, and social activities. 

Maryjane VanArsdale (Elizabethtown), a Precision Machining student at Mount Joy, considered the event an opportunity to infuse career and technical education (CTE) with the sense of community that traditional K-12 institutions can more easily tap into.  She explained, “Skills brings the fun into the school, a little bit. It’s not just straight work, work, work. … So to have that here… it makes me think of my home school a little bit.” 

Airamis Conde (Conestoga Valley), a Patient Care Technician student at Willow Street, described the conference and its lessons in leadership as critical. She stressed that leadership skills in her field mean “life or death on our table” when students join the workforce. 

On Wednesday, conference officers announced that Meals on Wheels and Sunshine for Seniors would benefit from the event’s raffle draw fundraiser. In the evening, our students socialized with other career and technology centers (CTCs) at a nearby movie theater. 

When asked about the socializing opportunity, Ky Logan (Elizabethtown), a Veterinary Assistant student at Willow Street, said she overcame her social anxiety, admitting she “felt comfortable” engaging in conversations. 

Britney Valetin (Conestoga Valley), a Patient Care Technician student at Willow Street, added she didn’t know how to build a conversation with a stranger and appreciated the chance to take ownership of her social skills in a closed setting. 

Josh Erwin (Ephrata), a student in Willow Street’s intergenerational Medical Assistant program, summarized: “Everyone there was there for the same reason. We all had the common goal of, we’re all here to be future leaders and to represent SkillsUSA from our respective campuses and schools. It was a lot easier to connect with people.” 

Of the lessons she learned at the workshops, Natalie Yang (Garden Spot), a direct peer of Erwin’s, highlighted the importance of timing and adaptability in leadership. She emphasized the ability to discern “when is the right time to say something and when is the right time to listen.” 

Similarly, Sara Rager (Manheim Township), a Patient Care Technician student at Willow Street, reflected on how her understanding of leadership evolved through the conference, realizing that “a leader doesn’t always have to be the first one to speak or stand.” 

On Thursday, students toured the Gettysburg Battlefield, competed in tricycle races, and interviewed for Outstanding SkillsUSA Student. At night, event organizers and our SkillsUSA advisors welcomed LCCTC administrators to a formal dinner where the Outstanding Central Region Awards were presented and the fundraiser drew to a close. The conference concluded on Friday morning with the presentation of Leadership Challenge Awards and brunch. 

Rager appreciated the visible advisor and administrative presences at the dinner. “All of the teachers, they’re very passionate about SkillsUSA too. It’s not just the students, it’s everyone who’s really involved in it,” she emphasized. 

Conde appreciated her advisors for taking time from their personal lives for the conference. She said her advisors gifting their time demonstrates how much they value their students. 

Layla Mellinger (Penn Manor), SkillsUSA president and student of the Architectural CAD program at Brownstown, appreciated the conference and club for re-energizing her educational journey. She explained she feels more excited to learn at LCCTC than at in traditional K-12 education: “Here, you get a fresh start with new people from everywhere, where you can show who your true self is without having to hide anything… without being in fear of, ‘What are they thinking of me?’”

“You don’t realize how much of an effect [SkillsUSA] has on you until after,” said Rager. “You have a reason to come to school. You have a reason to just be present… And I think that’s so huge.”