Morrisville State College to host nearly 900 high school students during SkillsUSA Regional Conference February 2
Nearly 900 students from 18 different high schools will gather on the Morrisville State College campus as they showcase a variety of talents during the SkillsUSA Area II Regional Conference Friday, Feb. 2.
The annual conference features high school students from technical schools and BOCES programs throughout Central New York competing in a variety of events. The competition features more than 60 contests clustered within numerous job fields that include computer and communications, construction, culinary, health, leadership, mechanics, and security and law.
Contests begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be held throughout the campus, including at the college’s auto and wood technology buildings, the crime scene and simulator rooms of Crawford Hall, the western riding and training center, and the Copper Turret Restaurant & Brewhouse. Students can also partake in a variety of on-campus activities held from 12-2:30 p.m., with ice skating, campus tours and a showing of the movie Despicable Me 3 all available.
Competitions will be judged by Morrisville State faculty, students, and industry and education representatives. An awards ceremony will be held at Hamilton Hall from3:30-5 p.m., with trophies going to the top three finishers from each contest.
Scholarship opportunities will also be available to the SkillsUSA regional participants through the Morrisville State College Leadership Award. The award offers $250 per semester to students who enroll full-time at Morrisville and is renewable for up to eight semesters if requirements are met. Participants who serve as state or national officers are also eligible for an additional $1,000 per semester for up to eight semesters.
This year’s event also includes a community service initiative supporting Feed Our Vets, a national organization that provides free food assistance to veterans and their family members. Food and hygiene products will be collected in front of the hospitality suite from 9:30-11 a.m. Donations received will be provided to local veterans between Utica and Watertown.
In the event of inclement weather, the competition will be held Friday, Feb. 9.
Following regionals, a statewide SkillsUSA competition will be held at the New York State Fairgrounds April 25 through 27. First-place winners from that event will then advance to the 54th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Louisville, Ky., June 25 through 29.
For more information about the SkillsUSA Area II Regional Conference, contact Diana Johnson at johnsods@morrisville.edu or call 315.684.6090.
Participating Area II Schools:
- Adirondack Central
- Bohlen Technical Center
- Broome-Tioga BOCES
- Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES
- DCMO BOCES – Chenango CTE Center
- DCMO BOCES – R.W. Harrold Campus
- East Syracuse Minoa Central
- Herkimer County BOCES
- H.G. Sackett Technical Center
- Institute of Technology
- Madison-Oneida BOCES
- Northern Catskills Occupational Center
- OCM – Charles McEvoy Center
- OCM – I. E. Henry Center
- Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES
- Otsego Area Occupational Center
- The Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation (ciTi)
- Syracuse City School District
- Seaway Career and Technical Education Center