BELLVILLE — SkillsUSA had its annual National Leadership & Skills Conference June 23 to 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Albert Ross, a recent graduate of Clear Fork High School and Knox County Career Center’s precision machining program, finished in second place in CNC Turning.
Ross qualified for SkillsUSA Nationals by winning the CNC Turning event at the state level.
“Simply put, I’m not done,” Ross said. “Competing at SkillsUSA Nationals was one of the greatest technical challenges I’ve faced. It pushed me to study harder and think in ways I hadn’t before.
“Now that it’s over, I want more of that feeling. I’m not exactly sure what my next step is, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
KCCC’s Precision Machining instructor Joe LaFevre was excited about Ross’ achievement.
“The SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference is an absolute honor to attend. I encourage everyone to go to it at least once,” he said.
“Get out and support SkillsUSA. It’s something special to see, but becomes even more special when you have a student competing. Having a student place second in our nation is humbling and emotional.
“From my perspective, I know what I put into my students in an effort to help them succeed in life, and I know what my students put in to do well and succeed at life,” LaFevre added. “To see a student succeed on the level that Albert has, it feels like grace, because it’s a confirmation and recognition of the hard work everyone put in to make it all happen.
“It’s not something just anyone gets an opportunity in life to become such a part of. It’s an honor to be in the position and to be able to say we went and had such success. I’ll always be rooting you on, Albert!”
“We want to congratulate Albert and Mr. LaFevre. How exciting to win first place at state and then get second in the nation!” Superintendent Kathy Greenich said.
“Our national career technical student organizations, like SkillsUSA, provide great opportunities for leadership training, meeting students from around the state and country, and to hear from speakers such as Mike Rowe.”