LYNN — Eleven students from Lynn Vocational Technical Institute attended the SkillsUSA Massachusetts Senior Adventures in Leadership (SAiL) conference on Feb. 10 at Gillette Stadium.
The event included 240 seniors from career and technical-education schools across the state and was led by business partners, program graduates, and community and education leaders. Students engaged in sessions that focused on improving financial literacy, managing college and career work-life, developing personal marketing tools, and relationship-building skills through networking.
“The SAiL conference is an elevated experience for seniors that gives them tips and insight to be ready for whatever comes next in their lives, whether college, career or military service,” said SkillsUSA Massachusetts Executive Director Karen Ward. “It helps them forge their individual path to career success.”
Business partners engaged with students during networking sessions and shared their perspectives on key issues affecting today’s workplace during a panel discussion involving senior leaders from Advantage Truck Group, Caterpillar, CohnReznick, Patience Noah Insurance, Raytheon and the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
Anjelis Amaro, state treasurer of SkillsUSA Massachusetts, and the state officer team helped facilitate the conference, which was a full-day event that included interactive workshops and training sessions to help students work on their personal, workplace, and technical skills, as well as discover career-development strategies.
Lynn native Jil-Lyn Wonoski, founder and principal of JW Consultants, delivered the opening keynote speech, “Building Your Personal Brand,” examining famous brands and how fulfilling their brand promise has been critical to company success.
She outlined why having a personal brand is important and how to build one, while also sharing how defining and keeping a brand promise can create lifelong career opportunities.
SkillsUSA advisor and English teacher at Lynn Tech Jason McCuish said he is incredibly proud of the students for attending.
“It’s amazing to see the commitment that they have to this program and to each other,” said McCuish. “Being part of SkillsUSA and working with these students has been a game-changer for me as a teacher.”
The lunch keynote speaker and former SkillsUSA member Jacob Donnelly — co-founder and managing partner of Beacon3 Partners — spoke to students about his career journey in investing, technology and nonprofit sectors.
