SkillsUSA Launches Journey of a Jacket Program Connecting Donors with Students
Published: February 08, 2022
Leesburg, Va., Feb. 8, 2022 — SkillsUSA has awarded official, red SkillsUSA jackets to 50 SkillsUSA members in 17 states through the newly launched Journey of a Jacket program, made possible with the support of SkillsUSA individual donors.
This new program, launched in October 2021, invited SkillsUSA members from across the nation to apply to receive their own official jacket. To apply, the students submitted an essay plus a letter of recommendation from their SkillsUSA advisor. The student response was impressive with over 450 applications.
“The jacket is a gift from our generous donors and is a symbol that the member is supported and valued,” said SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis. “It’s also an opportunity to showcase SkillsUSA pride and affinity by wearing our official attire.”
“When my student first put on his jacket, his pride was evident,” observed Katheryn Herfuth, the advisor of a student recipient from Frederick County Career and Technology Center in Frederick, Md. “He felt professional and ready to be a leader.”
Students were awarded jackets from the following SkillsUSA Chapters:
Alabama: Greenville High School
Arkansas: Ashdown High School
Arizona: Kofa High School and San Luis High School
California: Atwater High School; Mark Keppel High School; Oxford Academy; and Stride Career Prep at California Virtual Academies
Florida: Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Georgia: Cambridge High School; Forsythe High School; Greenbrier High School; Savannah Technical College; and Statesboro High School
Idaho: Meridian Technical High School
Massachusetts: Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical High School and Greater Lowell Technical School
Maryland: Frederick County Public Schools Career and Technology Center
Michigan: Bay-Arenac ISD Center
Missouri: Nichols Career Center and Northland Career Center
Ohio: Sentinel High School
Rhode Island: Warwick Area Career and Technical Center
Texas: College View High School; Frank McMillan Jr. High School; Victoria East High School and Victoria West High School
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. We have served 13.9 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.SkillsUSA Contacts
Jane Short or Karen Kitzel
703-777-8810
jshort@skillsusa.org or kkitzel@skillsusa.org
SkillsUSA announced today that the Lowe’s Foundation will support the organization with a donation of $700,000 to amplify the essential nature of the skilled trades and support students as they launch careers.
SkillsUSA, the #1 workforce development organization for students, has surpassed last year’s record membership setting a new all-time high of career and technical education student and teacher members in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide.
