Michelle Lopez, a TSTC student in Waco, is volunteering this month at SkillsUSA District Competitions.
(WACO) – Michelle Lopez has been on both sides of SkillsUSA competitions.
Lopez, 41, a student at Texas State Technical College, is volunteering this month for the high school SkillsUSA District Competitions hosted on campus. The first district contest was Feb. 5-6 with additional competitions Feb. 19-20 and Feb. 26-27. High school students compete in topics ranging from welding to cosmetology.
During the first day of competition on Feb. 5, Lopez welcomed students to TSTC and let them know how they could continue to be part of SkillsUSA at the collegiate level. TSTC has a history of creating champions with students having won more National SkillsUSA awards than any other college or university in Texas.
“When planning and running SkillsUSA events, volunteers are the event’s worker bees that make sure every detail gets done,” said James Matus, an instructor in the Computer Maintenance Technology program and campus SkillsUSA event director. “Their work ranges from cleaning, giving directions, scoring and judging.”
Lopez competed at the state and national collegiate level in SkillsUSA in 2014 and 2015 and this year will take part in state contests in Chapter Display, Extemporaneous Speaking, Prepared Speech and Technical Computer Applications. State medalists will move on to the SkillsUSA Championships in June in Louisville, Ky.
“I enjoy being able to network with my peers from around the country and with industry leaders,” said Lopez.
She was the campus SkillsUSA president in 2015 and is the chapter secretary this year.
Lopez was born in Waco and raised in Burnet. She spent 10 years in the United States Marine Corps and seven years in the United States Army before leaving on medical retirement.
Today, Lopez is studying Digital Forensics Technology, Cyber Security, Computer Networking and Systems Administration and Cloud and Data Center Management. She wanted to put the intelligence knowledge she gained in the military to good use. She is scheduled to graduate in December with multiple Associate Degrees.
“It’s taking me extra time since I’m earning multiple degrees,” she said. “It’s worth it for what I can do for employers. I will be even more versatile in the workforce.”