(From L to R) Izak Hoffman, Tymir Chism, Amare Haynes, Kavione Smith, Yahayra Gonzalez, Aliana Myers, De’Andre Simmons, and Instructor Tracey Scoville.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Orangeburg County School District (OCSD) Technology Center students recently competed in the state leadership competition for South Carolina Skills USA and won first place in Chapter Display. The back-to-back state championship winning team, under the direction of instructor, Tracey Scoville, were awarded a gold medal – again!
The theme for the 2022-2023 Skills USA competition is “Our Time Is Now,” and the Technology Center team constructed a display to serve as a symbol that it was their time to take on further education or employment in their desired career. They visually displayed the theme by constructing a working replica of the Big Ben, which is located in London. They also included career figurines surrounded by sail boats which represented different careers at the base of Big Ben, ultimately indicating that it was their time to set sail to success because our journey starts now. Also added to the display were lights as well as greenery and live fish to enhance and give the project a real-life effect.
It took eight Skills USA members more than 720 hours to complete the display project. The project commenced in December 2022, and with the help of outside volunteers, the display as well as the booklet was created and completed.
“What we learned and what viewers can learn from our display is that time is something you can’t get back. It’s fleeting. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. So, we will hop on our metaphorical “sail boats” and set sail to success because you never know when another opportunity may present itself,” said Team Captain Aliana Myers.
OCSD’s team is preparing to compete for a national title. The completion will be held in Atlanta, Ga in June. Captain Aliana Myers and Co-Captain Yahayra Gonzalez are enrolled as non-traditional students in the Building Construction program at OTC, where they will be attending college in the fall.
