As the new national officers were named during the SkillsUSA National closing session earlier this summer, Curtis Muecke waited anxiously to see if he’d made the cut.

He’d gone through three rounds to get this far, so when he heard his name called and headed up to the stage he felt a mix of emotions.

“There were 18,000 people there, so seeing my face on a stage that large was shocking, but knowing that people believed in me and believed in what I could do, really made it such a cathartic moment,” he said. “I was full of so many emotions, I was so excited, obviously, but also felt a little bit of nerves about what’s next.”

What’s next is serving more than 440,000 SkillsUSA members through the next year by advancing the organization’s mission. As a representative of SkillsUSA, Muecke will promote career and technical education through engagement, communication and leadership.

“I just really want to represent Wyoming on such a large scale,” he said. “Our state has so much to offer and has so many unique perspectives on national issues, and I want to represent that to the best of my ability. I want to show that every student has a voice, and no matter what area you come from, that you have an ability to join an organization that can represent you in any way you wish.”

Finding SkillsUSA

Muecke actually started out in FFA, but when it didn’t fit with his goals, he decided to give SkillsUSA a try. SkillsUSA is a workforce development organization that empowers students to become skilled professionals and career-ready leaders.

“It just was an organization where I immediately felt welcomed, and I had a lot of opportunities within it, and it’s just something I’ve stuck with since,” he said.

As a freshman he competed in extemporaneous speaking and continued to compete in various events throughout his high school career. Then in April 2025, he decided to run for a state office. He was elected and served for the next year. 

“I had just seen how much good SkillsUSA can do for its members, and I wanted to see the growth in myself that I knew it was capable of providing towards students,” he said. “So, I really wanted to work and grow my own skills while being able to give back to a community that’s given so much to me.”

As a state officer, he attended various leadership trainings, both across the state and the nation, working with business and industry partners in Wyoming to make sure SkillsUSA Wyoming students have as many opportunities as they can.

“Wyoming is such a small state, so we wanted to ensure that we had extremely high-quality opportunities for all of our members to attend, and then beyond that, we also worked with the Legislature to help provide more education and opportunities for career and technical education,” he said. “Right now, the skills gap, or the lack of people going into skill trades, is an extreme problem, and that’s something SkillsUSA really works to help close that skills gap. 

Taking the next step

During the year, Muecke and another state officer casually talked about running for a national office. Once the idea was in his head though, Muecke gave it a more serious look and decided he wanted to try to bring change to students in rural areas.

“Before being a state officer, I didn’t realize how many opportunities there were for SkillsUSA members,” he said. “So then once I heard about running for national office, I realized how much good I can do in that role, and it’s something I really strive to do.”

He filled out the online application and then had to take a candidate exam and do a Zoom interview with a panel. Scores from the exam and interview determined who moved on to the next round. 

“It takes on average about two months for the actual official process to go through, and that’s just because there’s so many qualified people and they’re trying to find the ones that can serve the organization the best,” he said.

Muecke was selected to move on to the final part of the process which occurred during nationals in Atlanta. There were 22 people vying for 15 positions. National officer candidates met with SkillsUSA delegates and also attended meet the candidate sessions. He also had to give one prepared speech and one extemporaneous speech.

“Once we got to the actual in-person campaigning, I did feel confident, but it wasn’t because of the people I was going against, it was because I knew I could represent rural members very well,” Muecke said. “I’m also an excellent public speaker, and I think all of those things worked in my favor.”

Ready for the challenge

The last time a national officer served from Wyoming was in 2019. Muecke is required to travel at least 45 days during the year. Along with various training and conventions, states can also request national officers to come to their events. 

Prior to serving as a state officer, he had never left the Western United States, but during his tenure he traveled to Washington, D.C., and to Atlanta. He’s ready to do even more this time around with destinations including Virginia, Nebraska, Arizona and Washington, D.C. 

“Even just in the state, I’ve got to go to every section, and it’s just given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people and get to see so much of our amazing country,” he said.

The officers use the SkillsUSA Program of Work to plan and execute annual activities. It is divided into six core categories: Advocacy and Marketing, Community Engagement, Financial Management, Leadership Development, Partner and Alumni Engagement, and Workplace Experiences. 

“I’m on our partner and alumni engagement committee and the financial management committee,” Muecke said.

The national officers had their first discovery training a couple of weeks ago, with the focus on working as a team and discovering what skills each person possessed and how they can best serve the team. At the end of the month they’ll gather again for a training before they host the Washington Leadership Training Institute.

“It’s the one I went to previously in Washington, DC,” he said. “I went in my role as a Wyoming state officer, and now I get to lead that conference.”

Muecke will be attending Casper College in the fall, representing their SkillsUSA chapter. He plans to study education.

He encourages any student with interest to check out SkillsUSA.

“SkillsUSA is the number one workforce development organization for students, and there’s so many opportunities within the organization for anyone who wants to be involved,” he said.  “Powell High School has a SkillsUSA chapter, so if they’re curious about learning more, the district website has information there if they want to be involved with the organization.”