Features

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.

Her more than 100,000 Instagram followers know her as “That Masonry Girl,” a proud online proponent of the skilled trades. Offline, Ashton White is no less passionate about the trade she loves and the organization — SkillsUSA — that led her to career-ready success.

SkillsUSA membership helped her grow as a leader, discover a career passion and achieve success in a field she loves. Now, she’s helping other SkillsUSA California students ignite the power of their own dreams.