Features

Aaron Robles has known only the United States as home since he was a baby. And yet, as the child of undocumented immigrants, his “pursuit of happiness” has always come with limitations. SkillsUSA — and a special advisor — gave him the tools to dream on.

Matt DiBara joined SkillsUSA in high school, driven by a passion to compete. Today, this young masonry entrepreneur has a new passion: giving back to the skilled trades — and a proud family legacy — that gave him everything.

This former SkillsUSA national officer’s talents have taken her from culinary arts to the courtroom to authoring a children’s book. With every unexpected twist in the road so far, one thing has remained consistent: Sheila Vasquez has always found mentors to help guide the way.

Jordan Packer is a world-class welder, a fact corroborated by his bronze medal at the 2022 WorldSkills Competition. “World-class” is far from where he started, however. First, he had to discover that reaching a place of true fulfillment often means navigating through confidence-challenging obstacles. Packer embraced the challenge, and his patience paid off.

“Level Up! New Skills Acquired!” Most long-time gamers are familiar with those phrases after overcoming difficult obstacles on pixelated battlefields. After joining SkillsUSA, video game enthusiast Juan Cubides learned to apply those words to real life. Now, this Colombia-born student is gearing up for the career of his dreams.

Kimberly Petronella, SkillsUSA’s 2022 Advisor of the Year, inspires her students to integrate the SkillsUSA Framework into every aspect of their lives. We take a deeper dive into Petronella’s approach while recognizing the incredible work of each Advisor of the Year finalist.