SkillsUSA Locals Competition

SkillsUSA held its Locals Competition on the Saturdays of October 30th and November 6th. An annual event put on by SkillsUSA, students in Mr. Morse’s culinary classes and Mr. Bayne’s ACES courses came to Pioneer to participate in competitions and professional development. Unlike normal years, the event was stretched out to two weekends to accommodate COVID safety protocols with limited capacity and spacing.

On the first weekend, a smaller group of only Morse’s students attended. Half of the group formed smaller teams of three or four to square off in the Culinary Competition, where they worked in Morse’s kitchen to make stir fry. The other half would be in the kitchen after lunch to bake cupcakes, with each group being required to use a unique special ingredient. They were judged by students and alumni, who scored them based on kitchen safety, efficiency, and the presentation and taste of their finished products.

While not in Morse’s kitchen, the students had their resumes looked over and were given presentations on interviewing tips and tricks by experienced professionals from our community. When not working with adults, students were interacting with the officer team, working on professional development like creating and presenting arguments and public speaking.

Next weekend, on November 6th, more students returned for a repeat of the last weekend’s activities. Mr. Bayne’s students joined, adding a new element to the day's events. In the morning, Programming students were in the lab coding an autonomous drone to complete an obstacle course that was set out in the cafeteria. In this competition, they were judged on how quickly and efficiently they finished the course. One room over, Morse’s students were hard at work making sweet and sour chicken. In the afternoon, Bayne’s Maker students made a stoplight-like device, with sensors, lights, and sounds, while Morse’s students made pies, each with a different filling. Like the previous week, when students weren’t competing, they were interacting with officers and professionals who came in to lend advice.

“Locals was more fun than expected,” remarks Bikramjit Bhumra, a senior who participated in both Programming and Culinary competitions. “Although we had to come on a Saturday, it was fun hanging out with my classmates, and it was really nice getting the chance to use what we’ve learned in school outside of the classroom.”

Some students will be continuing to compete at SkillsUSA regionals in January, with hopes to advance to the state and national levels. SkillsUSA is wishing good luck to their Regionals competitors, and looking forward to watching them succeed.