Poised and confident in her red blazer and pearls, Victoria Slagle makes speeches, conducts meetings, advocates for skills-based education and meets celebrities in her role as state president of SkillsUSA, a nonprofit organization for students in career and technical education programs.

The Troup High Senior recently won the club’s region competition in prepared speech - and hopes to take state honors in the event next month.

But, with a laugh, she explains that her “comfort zone” in the spotlight did not come easily.

“I sure didn’t start out that way,” she said, recalling the first time she spoke in front of a SkillsUSA group at a state leadership conference her sophomore year.

“The only way I got through it was that the lights were so bright, I couldn’t see the audience,” she said. “I read my whole speech, every word, looking down the whole time.”

Personal growth is just one of the reasons Slagle is enthusiastic about the SkillsUSA program. She believes the group, formerly known as VICA, “bridges the gap” between industry and students, encouraging young people to build the employability skills they will need to succeed in the modern workplace - skills like communication, problem solving and leadership.

“We learn how to present ourselves,” Slagle said. “As state president, I have gained a heightened love of leadership, but so much more.”

The “more” includes writing and giving her own speeches in varied venues - from Washington, D.C., to the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta, where she sat at the head table of a banquet for 600 and introduced Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

The “more” includes staying up-to-speed on current events and knowledgeable on issues in career education - everything from Perkins grants to bills before Congress.

The “more” also includes extraordinary time spent with her mother, Amy Scott Hicks, a Troup High graphic design teacher and SkillsUSA adviser. Herself a former state-level student leader in 4-H, Hicks has watched with pride as her daughter blossomed in an organization to which they share strong commitment.

“The skills I learned as a student in 4-H are the same skills I use every day in teaching,” Hicks said. “I know how good organizations like SkillsUSA can be for students and how much fun, too.”

Spending extra time with her mom, Slagle said, has made her senior year even more special.

“She’s made sure I had cough drops, extra pantyhose, whatever I needed. She’s held me together and been there for me every step of the way,” Slagle said.

That included a recent trip to Lovejoy High School, where Slagle and NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson helped roll out a new program, Tough Tools for Cool Schools. Through a partnership be-tween Kobalt Tools, SkillsUSA and Lowe’s roughly $300,000 worth of tools will go to more than 500 Skills-USA building and construction trades classes and labs across the country for classroom use.

Also on hand was NASCAR reporter Wendy Venturini of the Speed Channel, a former SkillsUSA member and national winner in Slagle’s event, the prepared speech competition. The two traded stories, and Venturini offered the local teen a few pointers.

Slagle said her big regret was that her brother, Taylor Hicks, couldn’t go along. Also a Troup High senior, he won first place in the recent SkillsUSA automotive competition and will attend Nashville Auto Diesel College next year.

As her term comes to an end next month, Slagle admits to bittersweet feelings. She and other Troup SkillsUSA members are doing what the organization teaches them to do - preparing for the future. They’ll help juniors McCall Butler and Tae Mays run for state office next month - the graphics class already is churning out campaign materials, as they did previously for Slagle. The Troup chapter, 130 students strong, is one of the largest and most active in the state.

Slagle is making plans to enroll at Georgia Southern University next fall. She plans to study graphic communications and design.

Slagle will graduate from Troup high with both career and college prep seals on her diploma - not unusual her teacher/mom points out.

“People who think of career education as ‘vocational’ don’t know what we are doing… It’s hands-on, with a lot of learning. Technical education is taking what we learn in academic classes and using it. Teachers often hear students say, ‘When am I ever going to use that?’ Well, that’s what we do.”

Slagle will take lots of memories with her - and a famous quote from Winston Churchill that’s become her motto.

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”

Andrea Lovejoy can be reached at editor@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 237.