Member’s of Diamond Bar High School’s Printed Works competed at SkillsUSA’s 56th National Leadership and Skills Conference in a vast competition encompassing business skills and technical ability. With competitions ranging from regional to national students, students were able to compete in over 100 events including advertising, design, entrepreneurship and prepared speech.

SkillsUSA is a nationwide competition with over 5200 contestants and 108 separate events. They are able to connect students to people who work in professional environments to provide experience and education to students. Winners of the competition are offered opportunities to receive scholarships and a chance to design the pin for next year’s competition.

Club president junior Ryan Wang was one of the few students at Diamond Bar High School who competed at SkillsUSA. Wang and his partner, Harrison Gan, were able to progress to state after placing fourth regionally. Wang’s team then competed in the web-design category, where they advanced despite their lack of experience. The team passed the regional level and continued onto the state competition.

“My team was just [my friend and I,] and we made it past regionals and qualified for the state-level competition,” Wang said. “We got fourth place at the regional, and at the state-level competition we placed 16th out of 17.”

As this was his first competition, Wang felt nervous for the competition. Even though the team was a bit unprepared, they tried their best in spite of this.

“I felt a little anxious at first because it was the first time I was experiencing anything like this,” said Wang. “Eventually I got over it. And during my competition, I told myself that no matter what happened, I had made it far enough.”

During the four-day event, Wang and Gan were set to compete on the second day. On day one, the team went over the competition details, and then practiced before their event on the second day. After a three-hour competition, Wang finished his event and attended the awards ceremony on the fourth day.

Despite not being able to reach nationals, the team remains enthusiastic and motivated for their next event next year. They look to improve on their skills over the summer and advance further next time.

“At this event, I learned that sometimes friends are more important, and the friends you make along the journey are always more important than the journey itself,” Wang said. “What motivated me throughout the event was me telling myself that no matter what happens, I was just trying something new.”