SkillsUSA SkillsUSA Champions Fall 2010 : Page 19
G old By Tom Kercheval Photo: Lloyd Wolf It’s Pure More than Medals SkillsUSA’s top regional advisors, including the 2010 Advisor of the Year, are more than content to watch unnoticed while their students shine. Now, for a moment, the spotlight shines on them W WEB RESOURCES h Find out more about the 2010 Advisor of the Year candidates. Visit: www. skillsusa.org/educators/aoy.shtml h Know an outstanding SkillsUSA advisor? You can nominate that person for Advisor of the Year by contacting your state asso-ciation director. Get the contact informa-tion for your state at: www.skillsusa.org/ about/dir4.shtml are great resources for your developing program at: www.skillsusa.org/ educators/newadvisors.shtml h If you’re a new SkillsUSA advisor, there e all know the old saying, “All that glitters isn’t gold.” But Crystal Gutshall, SkillsUSA’s Advisor of the Year, prefers a triumphant rewording: “Gold isn’t all that glitters.” Over 21 years as a cosmetology instruc-tor and advisor at Sun Area Technical Center in Watsontown, Pa., Gutshall has trained eight national, 33 state and 52 district gold medalists. While proud of her students who own those 93 glittering medallions, she measures success by more than just the competitive standard. “Sometimes I think we dwell on winners too much,” she explains. “There are possibilities for everyone to be successful in the organization, and that’s what I love about it. It’s not about the ‘best student’ becoming ‘No. 1.’ It’s about all students becoming the best they can be and finding a niche in the organization.” Gutshall quickly found hers when she became schoolwide advisor 16 years ago. “We had a good SkillsUSA program when I started,” she says, “but it was all about the contests. As much as I’ve had success in the skills areas, I just feel those leadership areas will carry on for students no matter what they do. We went from very bare-bones leadership involvement to every year having a student compete in Job Interview, Prepared Speech, Action Skills and Extemporaneous Speaking.” Fall 2010 SkillsUSA Champions 19
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