For the sixth-straight year, the Catawba Valley Community College SkillsUSA chapter has been honored as a Model of Excellence.
CVCC was one of 24 programs across the entire United States to receive this recognition.
This annual SkillsUSA Models of Excellence program recognizes the exceptional integration of personal, workplace and technical skills into SkillsUSA chapter activities.
This is the highest honor bestowed on chapters by SkillsUSA, which is among the largest student organizations for career and technical education.
“We are very excited about our selection as a SkillsUSA Model of Excellence, which recognizes the most Outstanding SkillsUSA Programs in the country,” said Tammy Muller, CVCC Executive Director of Strategic Business Partnerships and SkillsUSA. “We are very proud of this honor because it is college-wide award and illustrates the importance of SkillsUSA to our college. Our President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw and our college are also very proud that we are the only chapter in the country out of 19,000 chapters to be selected as a Model of Excellence six years in a row.”
The top 24 SkillsUSA chapters selected as Models of Excellence will be evaluated next month during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, which takes place June 22-24 in Atlanta, Ga.
A panel of judges will interview and evaluate each of the 24 chapters based on their goals, student-led plan of action, results, evaluation and SkillsUSA Framework integration.
Business and industry partners will conduct finalist interviews with students and advisors on June, and then help select the top three schools to be recognized on June 24 during the SkillsUSA Awards Ceremony at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The top three schools receive national recognition and the opportunity to share their stories through SkillsUSA in publications and trainings.
Catawba Valley Community College’s SkillsUSA Chapter currently includes 236 members, including students, faculty and staff.
“We are very proud of our students and advisors who have worked so hard to make SkillsUSA a part of everything they do,” said Gary Muller, executive dean of Corporate Education and Economic Development. “We have truly imbedded SkillsUSA in our classrooms all across our campus, which is illustrated by the success of our students in the SkillsUSA state and national competitions.”
Other programs honored as Models of Excellence included Buckeye Hills Career Center (Ohio), Cambridge High School (Ga.), Cape Cod Tech (Mass.), Center for Advanced Technical Studies (S.C.), Cumberland County Technical Education Center (N.J.), Deming High School (N.M), Dorchester Career and Technology Center (Md.), Douglas High School (Ariz.), East High School (Wyo.), Gloucester County Institute of Technology (N.J.), Gordon Cooper Technology Center (Okla.), Greater Lowell Tech High (Mass.), Louisville High School (Neb.), Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (Mass.), New Madrid County R-I Technical Skills Center (Mo.), Niagara Career and Technical Center (N.Y.), Putnam Career and Technical Center (W.Va.), Tennessee College of Applied Tech-Pulaski (Tenn.), Upper Valley Career Center (Ohio), Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education (Ariz.), Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School (Mass.), Wiregrass Georgia Tech College (Ga.) and Yuma High School (Ariz.).
The Models of Excellence program promotes the intentional learning of personal, workplace and technical skills outlined in the SkillsUSA Framework for student development. Specific characteristics defined within each skill area provide tangible benchmarks for student achievement and chapter programming.
Achievement is measured by student efforts in implementing essential workplace skills including personal responsibility, integrity, work ethic and organization in chapter activities. The hands-on approach of this program actualizes the SkillsUSA mission of empowering members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.
About Catawba Valley Community College
CVCC provides a true collegiate atmosphere for its approximately 5,000 students in curriculum and another 9,000 through workforce continued education programs. Serving students from counties across the region, Catawba Valley Community College was ranked as one of the top 10 Best Community Colleges in the United States in a list released by SmartAsset in 2021. CVCC currently offers 57 associate degree programs of study in Arts, Business, Computer Information, Education, Engineering Technology, Health Services, Horticulture, Industrial Technology and Public Services as well as nine college transfer programs. You can learn more about the programs offered at Catawba Valley Community College on its website at cvcc.edu.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. We have served 13.9 million members since 1965. For more information, visit www.skillsusa.org.
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