MORRISVILLE, NY—Nearly 900 students from 18 different high schools will gather on the Morrisville State College campus as they showcase a variety of talents during the SkillsUSA Area II Regional Conference on Friday, Feb. 2.
The annual conference features high school students from technical schools and BOCES programs throughout Central New York competing in a variety of events. The competition features more than 60 contests clustered within numerous job fields that include computer and communications, construction, culinary, health, leadership, mechanics, and security and law.
Contests begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be held throughout the campus, including at the college’s auto and wood technology buildings, the crime scene and simulator rooms of Crawford Hall, the western riding and training center, and the Copper Turret Restaurant & Brewhouse. Students can also partake in a variety of on-campus activities held from 12-2:30 p.m., with ice skating, campus tours and a showing of the movie Despicable Me 3 all available.
Competitions will be judged by Morrisville State faculty, students, and industry and education representatives. An awards ceremony will be held at Hamilton Hall from 3:30-5 p.m., with trophies going to the top three finishers from each contest.
Scholarship opportunities will also be available to the SkillsUSA regional participants through the Morrisville State College Leadership Award. The award offers $250 per semester to students who enroll full-time at Morrisville and is renewable for up to eight semesters if requirements are met. Participants who serve as state or national officers are also eligible for an additional $1,000 per semester for up to eight semesters.
This year’s event also includes a community service initiative supporting Feed Our Vets, a national organization that provides free food assistance to veterans and their family members. Food and hygiene products will be collected in front of the hospitality suite from 9:30-11 a.m. Donations received will be provided to local veterans between Utica and Watertown.
In the event of inclement weather, the competition will be held Friday, February 9.
Following regionals, a statewide SkillsUSA competition will be held at the New York State Fairgrounds April 25-27. First-place winners from that event will then advance to the 54th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Louisville, Ky., June 25-29.
For more information about the SkillsUSA Area II Regional Conference, contact Diana Johnson at johnsods@morrisville.edu or call 315.684.6090.
Participating Area II Schools:
Adirondack Central
Bohlen Technical Center
Broome-Tioga BOCES
Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES
DCMO BOCES – Chenango CTE Center
DCMO BOCES – R.W. Harrold Campus
East Syracuse Minoa Central
Herkimer County BOCES
H.G. Sackett Technical Center
Institute of Technology
Madison-Oneida BOCES
Northern Catskills Occupational Center
OCM – Charles McEvoy Center
OCM – I. E. Henry Center
Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES
Otsego Area Occupational Center
The Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation (ciTi)
Syracuse City School District
Seaway Career and Technical Education Center
Morrisville State College’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings.