SkillsUSA is a workforce development organization for students. This organization was created in hopes of helping empower students to become skilled professionals and career-ready leaders. Our wood and culinary class at Barlow participated in the SkillsUSA competition on April 11-12.
During the woods competition, participants had six hours to build a small structure; each person competing had to build their own structure. They had no prior knowledge of what they were to build. The competition provided all the wood and lumber, and all they had to bring were their tools.
Once they saw the blueprints for the structure, the time started. Leading up to the competition, they practiced by working on the tiny home in the main parking lot and practicing their skills. Five students from the woods volunteered to compete. There is no official SkillsUSA club for woods; this is the first year they have competed, and surely won’t be the last.
Although Woods didn’t place in the competition, they learned and gained lots of experience. “SkillsUSA has helped me gain respect for builders who do things by hand,” said Diego Gaspar Lopez, a senior who competed. Gaspar has been a part of the woods program since his freshman year and is looking into construction for a possible career in his future.
Another senior who competed, Heath Jones, added, “My favorite memory would have to be seeing the blueprints for the first time and thinking of a sequence.” This competition helped many students learn and gain valuable knowledge that they can take into their future.
Culinary also competed at SkillsUSA. They competed in three different events: Baking and Pastry, Culinary Arts, and finally, Restaurant Service.
In Baking and Pastry, they made buttermilk biscuits and fruit tarts, which they had two hours to bake. For Culinary Art, they made a chicken dish with a sauce and green beans; they only had 90 minutes to cook the entire dish. While for Restaurant Service, they performed a mock service where they folded napkins and served mock customers like in an actual restaurant.
Five contestants were in the competition: Payton Devet, Lizzy Wyatt, Evelyn Bond, Ethan Quintero, and Sierra Kandt. Leading up to the competition, they practiced weekly on recipes during their club time, every Thursday after school. They timed their cook times and practiced actual recipes used in past competitions. The competitors were picked if they volunteered. The club officers were given first choice, and then it went down the grade levels from seniors to freshmen.
At the competition, they provided all the food materials, but they all had to bring all the cooking utensils, like measuring cups, and their uniforms. There was a set menu plan for the competition; they all got the recipe and had to replicate it to the best of their ability. This menu was released to them the Saturday beforehand, so they were able to look at it and practice a couple of times.
Ethan Quintero, a junior who placed third in the restaurant service, said his favorite memory from the competition is, “Working next to the freshman and seeing the future of the club.” Two freshmen competed in the competition alongside the upperclassmen this year, working at the same level.
Payton Devet won first in Baking and Pastry this year. Devet is a senior and is going to college next year for baking and pastry. Devet has been a part of the SkillsUSA club for two years and has already made an impact. “SkillsUSA has helped me see the kinda path I want to take,” Devet stated. Culinary competes in these competitions every year and looks forward to next year.
These competitions helped the students in many ways and will continue to push their competitors to their limits. Congratulations to all the students who competed and placed. Good luck next year!!
