A team of students from the Southeast Arkansas Community Based Education Center or SEACBEC along with director Devin McDiarmid and Criminal Justice teacher Jessica Jones attended the SkillsUSA national competition in Atlanta, Georgia on June 24-29, 2024. The team which consisted of Jimmy Lister, Aryia Williams, Griselda Herrera, and Stephanie Garcia competed and placed 12 out of 35.
SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference is the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce. It brings together more than 16,000 attendees, which include instructors, industry partners, government officials, administrators, and more. Competitors compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals. Each year, the event is held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Over 1.79 million square feet of space is covered which is the equivalent of 31 football fields.
The team members who participated not only competed as a team but also individually and were not allowed to consult with each other during the individual part of the competition. Skills performance was broken down into four main sections. The first was the crime scene practicum, which is a mock crime scene. The second was paperwork which consisted of crime scene sketch photos and individual narrative. The third was skill demonstration where the team had to pick three skills to demonstrate. One example is evidence collection. The fourth is evidence interpretation where the team must evaluate or analyze evidence.
Competitors also have to know the meaning of words like control samples, crime scene photographs, blank samples, and chain of custody to be successful while competing. They must complete tasks like lifting fingerprints, photographing a scene and evidence from multiple angles, and measuring the scene.
Competitors can earn scholarships, tools of the trade, and even job offers right off the competition floor. It is the number one workforce development organization for students.
For a team to be eligible to compete at the national level, they must first win at the state level. The team from SEACBEC competed in April 2024 and placed second but was able to advance after the first-place team was unable to attend the national competition. To say that the students were excited is an understatement.
“The feeling of just going,” Herrera said. “I was so excited about everything.”
“I was very excited when I found out that we went from second to first,” Garcia said.
To get ready for the competition in Atlanta, the students had many after-school practices where they processed mock crime scenes, each one working on individual skills.
Stephanie Garcia, who is interested in the photography side of C.S.I. explained how photographic evidence is collected.
“You take photos of the evidence, the body, and other stuff that’s in the crime scene,” Garcia said. “You take photos from different angles.”
Jessica Jones, who is the Criminal Justice instructor was there with the students in their after-school practices and she also accompanied them to Atlanta.
“This is truly a student-led operation,” Jones said.
Another thing that made it possible for the team to attend the national competition was support from the community. Businesses like Union Bank, UAM in Crossett who transported equipment to Atlanta, the Warren School District, Keith McKnight, SEACBEC faculty and staff, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, and the Warren Police Department all provided support in different ways.
“In the past, the Warren Police Department has donated a police car for students to use as practice,” said McDiarmid.
Even though the team is short one member due to graduation this past May, they are looking forward to the 2024/2025 school year and another possible trip to nationals where they plan to place higher and do better.
