Augusta Technical College’s Design Media and Production Technology student, Emily Pinto, has recently been elected to serve as a 2023-24 SkillsUSA National Officer.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit, U.S. career and technical student organization that serves more than 395,000 middle school, high school, and college students as well as professional members enrolled in training programs within trade, technical and skilled service occupations.
“SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry professionals, and they work together to ensure that America has a skilled workforce for the future,” said Pinto. “Their mission is to empower members to be more complex workers and leaders, and responsible American citizens … they do that by instilling their Framework into workers.”
Pinto underwent a rigorous process, including: earning the SkillsUSA Framework Certification, the CTE Knowledge Certification, the Career Essentials Credential (about a 30 hour course), passing a program written exam, participating in an interview by national education and industry leaders, and acquiring a majority of national delegate votes.
“It was quite a long process but it was so worth it to be involved in this organization, which is making such a big difference locally but also nationally in long run for our
future workforce,” Pinto said.
She said being a part of SkillsUSA encouraged her to be flexible about learning new and useful skills outside of her comfort zone, especially when it came to public speaking throughout competitions.
The national officer team leads nationwide conferences including the upcoming 2023 SkillsUSA Washington Leadership Training Institute, and the 2024 National Leadership and Skills Conference.
“SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens,” said a press release from Augusta Technical College. “Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.”
The national officer team serves on behalf of thousands of students across the nation, and attend national events while advocating for career and technical education at the request of the SkillsUSA national Executive Director and the national Board of Directors.
In the past, Pinto served as a 2022-23 SkillsUSA Georgia Postsecondary State President for Augusta Technical College, and is the first Technical College System of Georgia student to be a SkillsUSA National Officer in over a decade.
She has also been a two-time state gold medal winner by earning an Advertising Design state gold medal in 2022, and by winning a Photography state gold medal in 2023.
She widely accredits her success to her instructor and advisor Sherrie Rowe, from the Department Head of Design Media and Production Technology.
“I would not be here if it was not for her,” said Pinto. “She took me from being slightly introverted in class to pulling out skills that I had inside of me … in the last two years, she developed skills that I didn’t even know were within me in order to get involved.”
Rowe said she has thoroughly enjoyed working with Pinto over the years and believes the national officer team will only continue to broaden her horizons.
“It’s going to be a great year for her, a lot of doors will be opened from this experience,” she said. “After you build a student up and they have that confidence, you’d be surprised with what they can do.”
As someone who has just started her own LLC, Pinto said she already recognizes how SkillsUSA has caused her to develop useful communication skills and self-advocating talents that help her in the real world when working with clients.
Pinto is now with the SkillsUSA national office where she is ongoingly receiving training and being interviewed to determine her official position on the national officer team.
“SkillsUSA is the shining example of what we’re doing right when it comes to teaching the next generation of workers, so it’s incredibly important for young people to get involved with organizations like this,” said Pinto. “I’m really excited and can’t wait for this year.”
