(MARSHALL, Texas) – Students from Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus are heading to Corpus Christi to compete in the 2026 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference on April 8-11.
SkillsUSA is a professional organization focused on employability, leadership and technical skills. It features more than 100 specific contests at the state and national levels, ranging from 3D Visualization and Animation to Welding Sculpture.
The Marshall campus will be represented by students from the Drafting and Design, Precision Machining and Welding programs.
Joshua Aparicio, of Tyler, said he and his Welding classmates competed to see who would represent the campus. He is competing in the individual welding event.
“I’ve always wanted to be a welder,” Aparicio said. “I like to show my skills that I was blessed with.”
Caleb Bush, of Waskom, is a Precision Machining student competing in the CNC 2 Axis Turning Programmer category. He said he has never competed in the category before, but he often looks for opportunities to advance himself in the field.
“Being able to compete in something like this will allow me to see where I actually stand with everybody else who wants to do this industry,” Bush said.
Ryan Dunn, a Drafting and Design student from Hallsville, entered the competition in 2025 and is returning with more knowledge and confidence. He is competing in Technical Drafting and cannot wait to see what he and his classmates will experience.
“I really think I have a high chance of placing this year with the experience that I’ve gained,” Dunn said.
Arturo Garcia, of Palestine, is part of a three-person team competing in Welding Fabrication alongside Jovanny Ortega and William Yeager. He compared the upcoming competition to the job market.
“That’s what you’re going to do at a job site. You’re going to have to compete with other welders to get the jobs because it’s not going to be just you,” Garcia said. “You have to try your best and doing this competition is probably a good pressure standpoint.”
For more information on SkillsUSA Texas, go to skillsusatx.org.
Registration for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.