Jacob Griffin Placed Third at SkillsUSA Leadership Ceremony

Out of 42 students, sophomore Jacob Griffin placed third in SkillsUSA’s leadership Opening and Closing ceremony at MidAmerica this October.

“SkillsUSA is a partnership of educators, industry members, and students to ensure America’s skilled workforce,” Matthew Hurt, HHS’s SkillsUSA lead advisor, said.

Griffin’s love for welding led him to join SkillsUSA as a freshman. 

“Welding is a passion. My dad did it when I was growing up, and I enjoy being around that whole industry, and I want to become a welder myself,” Griffin said.

MidAmerica is a leadership conference between eight different states; North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and Minnesota, where participants get elected for roles or jobs as a part of the team [the group of officers]. 

“[At MidAmerica] we learn about leadership first. Before I [go] to weld at state, I got voted for officer which would be Vice President,” Griffin said. 

Each member has a part of the SkillsUSA emblem they represent and a speech to memorize to present to the judges. The Parliamentarian is responsible for the shield which represents patriotism. The Reporter represents the gear that shows industrial society. Then, the Treasurer who has the torch and represents knowledge. Also, the Vice President [Jacob]’s part was the hands that are symbolic for the individual. After the Vice President is the Historian with the official colors of SkillsUSA which represent organization. Finally, the Secretary with the orbital circle that represents modern technology.

“Each part, the orbital circle, the shield, the torch, the hands, the gear, and SkillsUSA, each has a reasoning as far as the emblem. They have that exact part and they explain what that hands [or other parts] mean. The competition is [the] breaking apart of what the emblem of SkillsUSA means,” Hurt said.

There are many different positions in the team, for example, the President [of the team], who runs the chapter, works with other officers to prepare the agenda and represents SkillsUSA in school and public functions. Also, the Vice President runs the meetings in the absence of the President and supervises all committees. The Historian keeps track of all the chapter’s pictures and videos. The Treasurer keeps record of the team’s funds and handles the financial aspects, and the Reporter is in charge of writing news and the chapter’s activities. The Secretary advises the President on the agenda. Lastly, the Parliamentarian oversees the business procedures of HHS’s chapter’s meetings.

“Natilee was the President, Brayden was our Historian, Brock Davis was our Treasurer, Beatrice was our Reporter, and Hunter was our Parliamentarian,” Griffin said.

Griffin was voted for Vice President by the HHS’s team. The Vice President is responsible for the hands emblem that represents the individual and the desire to acquire a skill. It also shows that he, and the team, are honorable in who they are and what they do. Individually, Griffin was tasked with memorizing a speech for the hands emblem, and he was allowed an entire day to prepare for the speech. He prepared for a total of 15 hours. 

“Opening and Closing Ceremony is where we go in, say the pledge, and hold the sign up and talk about what the sign says. I was the Vice President so I did the hands,” Griffin said.

Griffin was with his fellow officers in Columbus, Nebraska at the MidAmerica conference  for four days. Griffin described the overall experience as “fun” and encourages others to participate because of all the new opportunities that can be beneficial for their future.

“It was really fun. You meet a lot of different people. You make connections with people you feel like you’ve known for years, but you really [haven’t]. It was really cool, and I want more people to be inspired by this stuff. You just want to learn. I want people to learn on how we’re learning about how to take care of ourselves,” Griffin said.

This April, Jacob and the other state participants will specialize in a craft. Those crafts range from speech to welding and even nursing. Griffin plans to participate in the welding competition where he will weld a sculpture that is within certain parameters. Griffin will have a month to prepare, but at the competition, the time will be narrowed down to three days.

“I got a lot of projects. I have some cool ideas I wanna do. I want to build a bulk bin. I have fifteen hours behind a welder everyday,” Griffin said.

Preparing and planning for a competition can be tiring and stressful because of making sure every single detail is perfect and how the creator wants it. The physical part isn’t the only struggle the team faces. Fundraising is also a big part of SkillsUSA because it supplies the money for things like food, a place to stay when going to and during competitions, and the materials used.

“[During the competition and preparation] you work your butt off, you are on your feet, you are stressed out, you are doing everything you can,” Griffin said.

Even though competition can be stressful, having people there to support you can be beneficial. Also, meeting new people and experiencing things you have never done before were parts of the competition that Jacob enjoyed.

“It’s the connections you get. When we were at MidAmerica we spent three days, fifteen-hour days with the same exact people. You meet a lot of new people from a lot of different states. You got to learn a lot,” Griffin said.

In total, there have been 130 state medalists, with 20 state champions, and five national placers that have participated on Hastings High’s SkillsUSA team. All that is required to join the team is going to the planned meetings, paying the 20 dollar fee, and being an active member in the chapter. Currently, there are around 28 members. Both Hurt and Griffin would encourage others to join, not only for the learning opportunities, but for the character development aspect as well.

“If people would join today we would take them to state. We also want to go have a talk with the middle schoolers about joining SkillsUSA because I think we’re going to start a chapter up there at the middle school too so they can start learning stuff about leadership. SkillsUSA helps you learn life skills and has helped me learn more about my likes and what I’m good at,” Griffin said.