By Naeisha Rose
Students from Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School in Jamaica Hills were rewarded in a skills competition at the SkillsUSA Championships in Kentucky.
Anuj Shah, Joseph Maldonado, David Serrano, Jaya Raj, Faran Sharif, Devonte Rowe, and Season Chowdhury of Team X represented their school, receiving the Skill Point Certificate for an Opening and Closing Ceremonies presentation, which they performed June 27.
“We were given a script and we had to remember the lines and the roles we had to play,” said Anuj, 17, from Queens Village. “The script focused on SkillsUSA and how the organization helps people out in being united as one.”
The performance required the students to act out being a government body, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and memorize the SkillsUSA pledge, according to Shah, who played a parliamentarian.
“We had to synchronize and say everything at the same time,” said Anuj, who along with the other six students performed for nearly 15 minutes in front of four judges and several other SkillsUSA competitors.
SkillsUSA Championships is one of the largest skill competitions in the world for students and awards scholars on career and technical abilities.
Events were held June 27-28 in Louisville, and more than 6,300 students competed to showcase their proficiency in technical, workplace, personal and leadership skills in 102 events before 1,900 judges, according to SkillsUSA. The students were scored based on entry-level standards for a different industries.
Skill Point Certificates were awarded for 72 occupational and leadership areas and scored based on a predetermined threshold defined by industry, according to SkillsUSA.
The students in Team X scored 875 points out of a possible 1,000 points, according to David Worden, a SkillsUSA program director.
“Students from every state in the nation participated in the 2018 SkillsUSA Championships,” said SkillsUSA Executive Director Tim Lawrence. “Our students, instructors and industry partners work together to ensure that every student excels. This program expands learning and career opportunities for our members.”
Over $36 million is donated in time, cash and material for the annual event, which has students participating from middle school through college in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The organization has been verified as a talent pipeline for America’s skilled workforce by 600 industry businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions.
Shah, who will be attending Queens College in the fall as a business student, believes that he will carry his experience at the SkillsUSA Championship into the future.
“As we were preparing for this competition we learned how to work together, we learned how to cooperate with each other, help each other out, critique each other, and point out strengths and weaknesses,” said Shah. “I’ll definitely use these skills towards my business career.”
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
