SkillsUSA took its first trip of the year on Thursday, Oct. 4 to the Central Regional Leadership Conference. Council members and seniors Connor Martin of Spring Lake Heights, Alexis Colucci of Middletown, Grace McCaffrey of Middletown and Erica Sammarco of Colts Neck attended with club adviser Scott Stengele. The council visited Mercer County Tech for the event.

The conference was the first of the three held in New Jersey and included regional officer elections and sessions on how to better improve SkillsUSA chapters.

McCaffrey said the conference bettered her leadership skills and allowed her to meet people also involved in SkillsUSA.

“We talked with other Skills members from a bunch of different schools about the basis of Skills and how it helps us to be better leaders,” McCaffrey said.

SkillsUSA members listened to speeches and met candidates to prepare to vote for the new officer in their region.

McCaffrey said she enjoyed meeting people with similar interests from different backgrounds.

“Overall it was a fun way to meet other people from Skills who are studying a bunch of different things,” McCaffrey said.