Student elected to national office makes history

While political candidates are hard at work campaigning for national, state and local offices, one student’s campaign has already landed her a nationally elected position.

Helen Smith of the SkillsUSA chapter at Sandy Creek High has been elected by her peers to serve as National Region II vice president. In her position, she will help lead the national SkillsUSA organization by serving as a representative and advocate to both industry partners and government policy makers. Smith made history by being the first student from Sandy Creek High to be elected to a national office for a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO).

The election took place at the 2016 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville in June. Prior to the conference, Smith spent months developing, designing and producing a campaign identity package through her graphic design class at Sandy Creek. Smith ran on the slogan “Live Your Passion.”

At the conference, she campaigned one-on-one with voting delegates from around the nation. She passed out business cards with “What is Your Passion?” printed on them, and invited delegates to write their passion on them and pin the cards to her campaign board. She also participated in question and answer sessions with more than 300 delegates in attendance and completed an interview process.

Smith recently finished eight days of national leadership training and planning at the SkillsUSA national headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia, and will bring back enhanced skills in leadership to share with Sandy Creek’s SkillsUSA chapter, where she serves as the chapter’s executive vice president.

SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. The organization helps high school and college students enrolled in career and technical education programs to excel by teaching employability skills such as communication, problem solving, and leadership in conjunction with their trade, technical, and service occupational skills.