Valdosta, GA – Team members of SkillsUSA at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College have a long history of using the skills taught in the classroom and labs to become top medalists on both state and national level. The team recently used a different kind of skill that has made an important impact in the lives of others -- that skill is community service. The members started working back in November 2017 on the Valdosta, Cook, Ben Hill-Irwin, and Coffee Campuses of Wiregrass collecting clothing items for the Night to Shine Proms, affiliated with the Tim Tebow Foundation™. The students collected clothing items for the proms in Valdosta and in Douglas. Being the first year the team participated in this event, the goal was to collect 100 dresses, 50 men’s jackets and pants, and 50 accessories. The SkillsUSA team members were surprised by the overwhelming support from the communities! They were able to collect 482 dresses, 70 men’s jackets and pants, and 162 accessories for the two proms. A Boutique Day was set on the Coffee and Valdosta Campuses and attendees to the prom were invited to come find their outfit. The team organized all the donations, set-up and helped prom guests select an outfit and accessories. The college’s Culinary Arts program prepared homemade cookies for the guests, and the students from the Digital Media Programs were on hand to photograph the guests.

The afternoon of the Night to Shine event, a Salon Day was set for attendees to get ready for the prom. The services were provided by the college’s Cosmetology and Esthetics programs offering haircuts, hairstyling and make-up. Over 40 students volunteered on their free time to come to the college to give the prom guests the extra shine for their special night. The college also had 26 students and employees who volunteered and worked the proms. Wiregrass faculty and staff that helped coordinate these efforts are: Campus Life Coordinator Kelly Wetherington, Business Education Instructor Deanna Edwards, Business Education Instructor Kayla Tillman, Cosmetology Instructor Leigh Ingra, Radiologic Technology Program Coordinator Jennifer Ray, Print Shop Coordinator Mary Donna Pippin, Area Director- Health and Management Professions Denese Davis, and Automotive Repair Technology Instructor Toby Heard.

One of Maya Angelou’s quotes comes to mind, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The Wiregrass SkillsUSA team helped others shine. For more information about SkillsUSA, visit www.wiregrass.edu.

Wiregrass SkillsUSA students volunteered many hours to help with Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine Proms. Pictured L-R: Blake Royals, Monica Jones, Emily Anderson and Nikki Hinson. All are students in Wiregrass’ Radiologic Technology program on the Valdosta Campus.

Pictured L-R: Back row: Wiregrass Associate Vice President for Adult Education April McDuffie, Business Education Instructor and SkillsUSA Advisor for the Ben Hill-Irwin Campus Deanna Edwards, Business Education Instructor and SkillsUSA Advisor for the Coffee Campus Kayla Tillman, Wiregrass student Michael Horn (Computer Information Systems), Wiregrass student Shannon Brown (Criminal Justice Technology), Wiregrass student Daniel Yawn (Telecommunications Technology), and Wiregrass student Otis King (Business Management).Front row: Wiregrass student Chrissie Martin (Early Childhood Education), Wiregrass student Trevecca Gates (Criminal Justice Technology), Wiregrass student Ashlee Mullis (Cosmetology), Wiregrass student Sierra Smith (Cosmetology), and Director of Distance Education Sabrina Cox.