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SkillsUSA gives national honor to East Brunswick Tech chapter

The SkillsUSA chapter on the East Brunswick Campus of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools has been named a National Model of Excellence, the highest honor awarded by the nonprofit organization, which promotes career and technical education.

“The Models of Excellence program represents the very best in chapter achievement and community involvement,” said Timothy W. Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA. “These students represent our future workforce and reflect the future of their communities. This is a tremendous honor for each school and validates these outstanding SkillsUSA programs as some of the best in the nation.”

The Model of Excellence designation is awarded to only 24 SkillsUSA chapters nationally. It recognizes personal, workplace and technical skills in chapter activities.

East Brunswick chapter vice president Lexie Enzana, a senior from Woodbridge, and treasurer Joseph Temenski, a junior from Sayreville, represented East Brunswick Tech this week at the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The students were honored at a recognition dinner and competed for top honors during Models of Excellence interviews.

Also attending the conference in Louisville were juniors Emily Soden of South Plainfield and Valerie Urbaez of Perth Amboy, both of whom won gold medals at the state SkillsUSA competition in April. The East Brunswick Chapter won 14 medals, 10 gold, three silver and a bronze.

“We’re extremely proud of their accomplishments and excited for their opportunity to compete at the national level,” said East Brunswick Campus principal Michael Cappiello.

The East Brunswick Tech chapter was awarded Models of Excellence recognition for its “SkillsUSA Day,” a workshop planned and led by student officers to welcome new members into the organization and to teach them about the personal, technical, and workplace skills that make up the SkillsUSA framework. The student officers were responsible for creating objectives for the day and developing lessons and activities to accomplish their objectives.

Led by chapter advisors Sarah Rubin and Thomas Leibering, both math teachers, they learned the planning, organizational, and management skills necessary to lead an educational, productive, and engaging workshop. The members who attended began to learn the essential communication and teamwork skills that will help them to be successful students and employees.

SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry 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. SkillsUSA has more than 360,000 members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.

6/24/19