School may be out for the summer for most kids, but for 55 Iowa student leaders, they were ready for a full day of learning and engagement. Elected state officers from career and technical student organizations (CTSO) from across the state took part in the annual Creating Outstanding Officer Leaders (COOL) training on June 6 in West Des Moines.
The atmosphere of the training, themed as “Charting the Course,” was lively and provided fun and interactive learning activities for students to develop leadership, communication, teamwork and other professional skills that will be useful to them in the upcoming year and in their future college and career pathways.
“We’re heading into another big year of onboarding new CTSO chapters, so it’s important that we have strong state officers,” said Chris Dzurick, CTSO consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. “By providing them with an opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills, they’ll be ready to help engage new members and educators next year.”
CTSOs enhance career and technical education (CTE) programs and provide opportunities for students to apply the skills they have developed in classrooms through conferences, competitions, community service events, worksite visits and other activities. Participation in CTSOs can help students explore potential career paths, make connections in the community and strengthen desirable soft skills, such as communication, organization, time management and more.
Six of Iowa’s eight CTSOs participated in this year’s training. Student members and advisers from DECA, HOSA-Future Health Professionals, Business Professionals of America (BPA), Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), SkillsUSA and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) were represented and had opportunities to learn from each other.
The day’s events were facilitated by Kyle Willkom from Action Packed Leadership and featured activities on program work development, peer engagement, following through on a team and promoting a CTSO.
For West Monona High School senior and FCCLA president Jalyn Struble, her biggest takeaway from the COOL training was the importance of building listening skills.
“As president, it’s vital to focus on listening to others,” she said. “We’re a group of 10 state officers this year, and there are so many perspectives. I want to be able to hear from each of them and work together. So many of the exercises we have been working on today focus on listening skills.”
Struble is committed to being a good role model this year for the younger FCCLA members and believes her time within a CTSO has helped her become a more professional leader.
“I’ve been a part of FCCLA since eighth grade,” she said. “There are so many opportunities to get involved, even for the younger kids coming in. I want to be able to encourage them to get involved.”
MMCRU (Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn-Remsen-Union) High School senior and SkillsUSA state officer Alyson Ball also has big plans for the upcoming school year.
“I’m excited for next year,” she said. “We now have a full state officer team and are able to accomplish so much more. We’re looking to hold a fall leadership conference for SkillsUSA, which hasn’t been done since the pandemic.”
Ball says her time within SkillsUSA has been beneficial for her own professional skill development and encourages others to make the effort.
“What you put into it is what you’ll get out of it,” she says. “And there are so many skills to learn, fun activities and competitions to do and new people to meet, if you put in the effort.”
The annual COOL training provides a starting point for the newly elected state officers, and this year’s event provided a framework these state officers will be able to use throughout the year with their organizations and school chapters.
“CTSOs can provide enriched experiences for Iowa students and the development of their skills,” Dzurick said. “The future is bright with these awesome student leaders.”