Mediaboss Marketing

Scottsbluff High Schools SkillsUSA chapter recently competed in the 2023 SkillsUSA Nebraska Championships and achieved placements in several events that tested the students applicable career and technical skills.

Scottsbluff SkillsUSA students place second in Crime Scene Investigation at state competition. On second place podium: Kyra Brannan (left) and Jaron Lambertson (right). On floor to Brannan's left: Dien Nguyen.

The state competition held in Grand Island saw over 1,600 students from across the state who competed in over 140 career and technical competitions, including architecture and construction, arts, audio/video technology, business management and administration, education, health science, public safety, hospitality and tourism, leadership, manufacturing, science, technology, engineering and math, information technology, transportation, and more.

The following Scottsbluff High School students placed at the state conference:

Second place: Jaron Lambertson, Kyra Brannan, and Dien Nguyen, crime scene investigation; James Kihlthau, diesel equipment technology; Jacob Green, Metric 500 Jr.; Cameron Kinsey, Metric 500 Sr.

People are also reading

Third place: James Kihlthau, drone technology basic; Meg Imhof, medical terminology; Keaton Kovarik, Metric 500 Jr. and drone technology basic.

In addition to these individual achievements, the Scottsbluff High School Skills USA Chapter was awarded the Quality Chapter Award. Furthermore, chapter adviser Rod Bussinger was named State Advisor of the Year.

Theres over 120 advisers and 92 chapters in the state of Nebraska, Bussinger said. Its really an honor, and Im still kind of in awe about it because there are so many really good advisers out there and I was fortunate enough to win the award.

Scottsbluff High School chapter adviser Rod Bussinger was named SkillsUSA State Advisor of the Year for 2023. Bussinger has taught skilled and technical science for 19 years, nine of which have been at SHS.

When Bussinger took over as the SkillsUSA adviser at SHS nine years ago, he said he had never even heard of the organization. Over the following years, he says he gained a deep appreciation for the program and its ability to prepare students for the workforce and grew the chapter from its initial size of four members to its current 44.

SkillsUSA is the best kept secret, he said. If theres only one CTSO (career and technical student organization) at a school, SkillsUSA covers them all. They do welding, FFA stuff, DECA, HOSA, ProStart they encompass all of those competitions. Theres something for everybody.

SHS senior and SkillsUSA chapter member Dien Nguyen explained that the organization has a strong focus on leadership in addition to career prep.

Its a club run by students that focuses on leadership skills and preparing leaders for the world of work, Nguyen said.

Nguyen competed alongside Kyra Brannan and Jaron Lambertson in the crime scene investigation event at the state competition, which Brannan said is exactly what it sounds like: a chance for them to test their knowledge of forensics by examining a mock crime scene.

Basically, what we did was go into a room and investigate a crime scene they built for us, Brannan said. We dont know what it is. There could be a dead body, a theft Its a great opportunity for us to learn.

Investigating a crime scene requires a lot of technical knowledge, such as the fingerprinting done by Brannan and sketching performed by Nguyen, but the team said that the key to performing well at a crime scene or in any other work environment is excellent teamwork.

You need to have good communication skills, Nguyen said. Throughout the entire process you have to tell everyone what youre doing. Its mostly teamwork skills.

Brannan plans to enter the criminal justice field in the future, making the experience gained through SkillsUSA a great sample of what shell be expected to do when she enters the workforce.

Scottsbluffs SkillsUSA chapter also does community service with the goal of developing highly versatile work skills, such as customer service, money handling, and networking skills that can be applied to nearly any career field the students ultimately find themselves working in. According to Bussinger, the true value of the program is in these little lessons learned along the way.

The most important part of being in SkillsUSA is not winning first or second place. It is building collaborative, strong, and productive relationships, and knowing how to handle adversities.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.

Read more:
Scottsbluff students put career skills to the test at SkillsUSA ... - Scottsbluff Star Herald