The 2025 SkillsUSA NC State Conference was held in Greensboro from April 9-11. Skills USA is the largest showcase of Career and Tech Ed in North Carolina. Over 3000 students and 500 advisors from across the state attended, and students competed in 130 skilled technical and leadership development events. Green Hope sent participants for 21 events, and brought home 17 top five finishes, with Green Hope taking gold in nine events.
SkillsUSA is a place where high school students can get real-world experience in the career they want to pursue. They get the chance to perform hands-on skills and get judged by people who are actually in the industry. Having access to professionals in these industries provides students with a valuable opportunity to receive immediate feedback and learn from an expert.
Green Hope’s chapter of Skills USA is relatively new. Founded last year with only 7 members, the group has already grown to 70 people this Spring. Initially, Green Hope only participated in events involving video production and development, but after a successful first year, they expanded into the fields of computer science and medicine. Students interested in those fields were encouraged to join.
The organization has competitions for a wide variety of job-specific skills, including carpentry, dealing with fire hoses, working on network servers, and even investigating simulated crime scenes. Roshan Shoukat (‘25), a founding member of the GHHS Skills USA chapter, competed in the Video Production event.
Shoukat shared his experiences, stating, “My partner and I got to our competition space at 8 AM, and we had no idea what was going on. All they told us was to bring a camera, recording equipment, and a computer to edit on. Once we got there are we were told we had two hours to film and two hours to edit a one-minute video promoting SkillsUSA to potential members. My team got 5th place in Video Production.”
One of the benefits of the conference is that students from various walks of life are able to meet and mingle. For those who haven’t had much exposure to experiences outside of their hometowns, the conference offers them an opportunity to expand their horizons and discover new things. “I made so many friends from across our state… Some were entering the workforce, some were going to community college, and some were headed to university, Shoukat explained.“We talked about life back home and they were very impressed by the two-story buildings they saw on the way here.”
The Skills USA organization prides itself on fostering an inclusive community that gives everyone a chance to explore their passions. The Green Hope chapter has continued to embrace this goal in their second year and plans to continue growing for many more years to come.
