(ATLANTA, Georgia) – They gathered at airports in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston and Shreveport, Louisiana.
The destination was Atlanta, Georgia, site of the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference taking place June 1-5 at the Georgia World Congress Center and State Farm Arena.
The goal? To fly back to Texas with shining medals in hand.
SkillsUSA is a professional organization focused on employability, leadership and technical skills that help college students pursue successful careers and be part of a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA has more than 100 contests at the state and national levels in which students can compete.
Students from Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen, Fort Bend County, Marshall, North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses will compete in more than 20 events.
Students qualified for the national conference by placing at the top of their contests at the SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference in early April in Corpus Christi.
Students are ready to show off their skills, pitting them against the best from other states, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For Edward Wilds, of Palmer, the trip is the culmination of his time at TSTC’s North Texas campus. He graduated during the spring semester with a certificate of completion from the HVAC program, and is almost done with the onboarding process to become a Building Automation Systems (BAS) technician at Schneider Electric USA in Carrollton.
Wilds said he was recruited to participate in SkillsUSA by program faculty members. He said while his time in Corpus Christi was hectic, he enjoyed being around HVAC students from other campuses.
For the national conference, Wilds practiced about seven hours a day starting the second week of April in preparation for traveling to Atlanta.
“I am excited to be here,” Wilds said. “The goal is to do the best I can and be as comfortable as I can.”
Dominique Vera, of Roma, is a third-semester Dental Hygiene student competing in the Dental Assisting contest.
She said after winning the gold medal at the state level that she and her advisor reviewed a packet of information for the national contest, which covered setting up barriers and trays and the different kinds of instruments used in the dental field.
“What helps me is that I’m in the (Dental) Hygiene program and I know a little about assisting,” Vera said.
Vera said she, like other students on the trip, must still keep up with their classwork while in Atlanta.
Faculty advisors are with students, ensuring they get to their orientations and contests on time.
Aron Guajardo teaches in the Robotics and Industrial Controls program at the Fort Bend County campus. He is advising students in the Mechatronics and Robotics and Automation Technology contests.
“It was a very rewarding feeling,” he said about his students winning gold medals at the state level. “One contest we expected, and the other one was up in the air. When it was announced, I was very proud of them.”
Guajardo said he took the students to TSTC’s Marshall campus for three days during the spring semester to do intense training with robots used in the Automation and Controls program.
This is the second consecutive year Guajardo has taken students to the state and national conferences.
“I am excited,” he said. “It’s good to be back.”
TSTC students and faculty advisors attended the conference’s opening ceremony on Tuesday, June 2, at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Attendees were treated to a keynote speech by Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Snap-On Chevrolet Indy Car and a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.
Newgarden talked to attendees about finding ways to face adversity and finding a way forward when life presents obstacles.
“What you are doing is always relevant and will always be needed and you will always be a critical piece of any team,” he said.
For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.