ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Emma Hoy thanks COVID-19.
As Emma, a Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School senior, worked her hair-styling magic on a wig Wednesday at a cosmetology station inside Allentown Fairgrounds AgriPlex, she disclosed she wouldn’t be standing there if not for the coronavirus pandemic a few years ago.
“Because you couldn’t go anywhere to get your hair done, I had to learn to do it myself,” Emma said. “Then I started doing my sister’s hair and my aunt’s.
“After a while I thought, ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at this.’ That’s when I decided to make it my career.”
Emma was among about 450 career and technical education students from the Greater Lehigh Valley who competed at the SkillsUSA Council District 11 Championships at Agri-Plex at Allentown Fairgrounds.
The students are the finest in their trades. For many of them, the event marked their first opportunity to work with and demonstrate their skills to industry representatives.
The skills categories included, but were not limited to, advertising design, architectural drafting, automobile servicing, carpentry, cosmetology and crime scene investigation.
Also, criminal justice, culinary arts, customer service, cyber security, electronics, health care skills, masonry, nurse assisting, power equipment technology, plumbing, technical computer applications, web design and welding.
Participating schools were Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, Career Institute of Technology, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, Monroe County Technical Institute, Upper Bucks County Technical School, Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 and Northampton Community College.
“The local workforce community understands the need for these skills. And we're selfish; we want to keep them here. We want to keep them all.”Andy Hammer, executive director, SkillsUSA Council
Nearly $200,000 had been pledged in scholarships for the winners of the 12 categories at the District 11 competition.
Students were competing to qualify at the state conference April 5-7 in Hershey.
Last year, District 11 had 90 competitors advance to states, with 40 of those students earning a medal.
Fifteen of those 40 advanced to the national conference in Atlanta in June, with one taking home a silver medal in information technology services.
“Today is really important for our local students in the Lehigh Valley and in Monroe and Upper Bucks County,” SkillsUSA Council Executive Director Andy Hammer said.
“It’s a chance to showcase the skills that they practice in the classroom. For many, it’s the first time they're on this type of stage in front of industry leaders and being judged on their skill set.
"It’s both a really exciting time for them and a nervous time for them.”
Looking for the best of the best
The Agri-Plex was divided into two sections Wednesday: One for the lighter skills, such as computer tech and cosmetology, and the other for heavy-duty skills, such as carpentry, masonry and automotive repair.
Judges strolled each section looking for the best of the best.
Many students were laser-focused on Wednesday’s competition. Some, such as Konrad Bzura of Monroe Career & Technical Institute also had his mind on life after school.
“I’ve always wanted to work on vehicles,” he said, pulling his face away from beneath the hood of a truck after testing its battery.
“In September, my friend and I are going down to Texas to work for Hennessey [a high-performance automotive company]. Wouldn't trade it for the world. It’s what I want to do.”
For Kira Tallada, a senior at Career Institute of Technology, her career path in skin care was borne of a personal experience.
“I used to have really bad acne,” she said. “That got me interested in skin care — how to take care of your skin when there’s a problem and even before there’s a problem.”
Her classmate, Isabelle Jones, chimed in.
“Use sunscreen,” she said. “Use it every time you go outside, even when the sun is not out. It’s the best thing you can do for your skin.”
“What a day like this shows is how fortunate we are in the Lehigh Valley to have the career and technical schools we do."SkillsUSA Council Executive Director Andy Hammer
More than just skills were on display at the competition.
There was Nuallan King, a Pen Argyl Area High School junior and student at Career Institute of Technology, on bended knee, constructing a wall system using brick and block, trowel in hand.
More accurately, trowel in his broken right hand.
“Even with his bad hand, there was no way he wasn’t going to compete here today,” said Melissa Hersh, his mother. “He always loved building things, even when he was younger. He’d be in the backyard with his dad building a firepit.
“Today was a chance for him to show his ability and his commitment.”
SkillsUSA's Hammer, an Allen High School graduate, scanned the young talent, smiled and nodded.
“What a day like this shows is how fortunate we are in the Lehigh Valley to have the career and technical schools we do,” he said.
“The five schools we partner with, we have such a great relationship with them.
“The local workforce community understands the need for these skills. And we're selfish; we want to keep them here. We want to keep them all.”
