Two AC students chosen to serve as SkillsUSA Texas Ambassadors

The Construction Technology Program at Amarillo College is pleased to announce that two of its high-achieving students have been selected to participate in the 2023 SkillsUSA Texas Ambassador Fellowship Program.

Additionally, those two students – Vania Esparza and Brandon Martinez Olvera – will be among a contingent of 30 AC students who will take part in the SkillsUSA state competition April 14-15 in Houston.

Those 30 AC students, who will compete in construction, welding, machining and automotive events, will be honored at a meet-and-greet gathering at 8:30 a.m. Monday, April 10 at the Student Services Building on AC’s East Campus.

The public and media are invited and encouraged to attend.

Esparza and Martinez Olvera are two of only six designated ambassadors statewide, each of whom will receive scholarship stipends of $1,500-$2,500 and be recognized at the state conference while in Houston.

SkillsUSA Texas Ambassadors also will attend and be asked to speak at three national events during their one-year tenure. Travel expenses will be covered by SkillsUSA, and each ambassador will additionally be assigned an industry mentor to guide them in their official duties.

“This is a rare and wonderful opportunity for Vania and Brandon to develop and hone leadership skills that could provide a lifetime of benefits,” said AC Construction Technology Program Coordinator Ernie Sheets.

“I am extremely proud of both our ambassadors and all our AC students who are headed to the SkillsUSA competition in April,” he said. “I have every confidence that all of them will be exceptional representatives of our College.”

Since 1965, SkillsUSA has been an integral part of career and technical education with an unwavering commitment to improving the quality of the nation’s skilled workforce.

Amarillo College’s East Campus is similarly committed to producing an exemplary workforce, graduates who will positively impact and bolster the region’s economic vitality.

Some of the recent initiatives undertaken by AC’s Career and Technical Education programs are:

• Obtained more than $1 million in grant funds to advance manufacturing programs and address the needs of industry growth in and around Amarillo.
• Adoption of Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) standards
• Creation a new Business Leadership Council model to enhance co-leadership of technical programs
• Utilization of Trellis Foundation funds to support a work-based learning model that deepens College-employer connections and provides internships
• Increase of automation specializations to better meet the needs of growing industries