Harbor Freight Tools for Schools has been honored to provide support for SkillsUSA since 2018. The organization serves more than 330,000 students and alumni annually, with students competing at the local, regional and national level in their chosen field. These competitions culminate in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Atlanta, GA, where the best from every state and territory compete in both technical and leadership skill areas.

This year, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools funded 104 scholarships to support students’ travel to the NLSC. Students received up to $1,500 to help them represent their programs at the national competition level. Many recipients stopped by our booth on the expo floor to give their thanks and talk about their competitions.

When asked what lesson she’s learned best from taking skilled trades courses in high school, recipient Meliah Riddick (pictured right, above) said, “If you think it’s too hard, just do it, because I thought my trade would be too hard for me, but I ended up getting really good at it and I got this scholarship so I can come compete in my trade!” Riddick is an incoming senior at W.F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury, CT and competed in Job Skill Demonstration for Precision Machining Technology.