Red Hawks recognize alumnus Watts for SkillsUSA service
Catawba Valley Community College’s SkillsUSA program recently recognized one of its longtime members for his outstanding service.
12/03/2020
Chanler Watts, a Challenger high school and CVCC graduate, was honored for his four years of service with SkillsUSA, including four years as a CVCC’s SkillsUSA chapter officer and two years as SkillsUSA North Carolina vice president and president.
“I am very honored to receive this award regarding my time as President for SkillsUSA North Carolina Postsecondary,” Watts said. “The overwhelming support from my advisors at CVCC as well as the leadership from the state and national SkillUSA organizations was beyond comparison. I had never been put in a position where I was set for such success. When I started as a member roughly four years ago, I was taken away by the atmosphere that SkillsUSA brought into my life.”
Tammy Muller, CVCC’s SkillsUSA chapter executive director, presented Watts with the SkillsUSA Officer Leadership Award this past week.
“Chanler is an outstanding young man who has developed personally and professionally during his four years as a SkillsUSA member,” Muller said. “Chanler is a born leader and has led our SkillsUSA Chapter as well as our SkillsUSA North Carolina programs. He is one of the reasons that our SkillsUSA Chapter has been so successful over the past four years. Chanler's commitment to lead — combined with his willingness to take risks — leads me to believe there will be no limit to his growth and achievements in college and beyond.”
As Watts became more involved with the organization, he continued to be amazed by SkillsUSA.
“When I eventually worked my way up to the position of president, the amount of support never increased. Instead it was maintained to such a high level that I believe more support was impossible,” he said. “The ability to participate in various community service opportunities, such as the Skills for Skills Craft show as well as the Celebration of Nations event, were truly a blessing.”
On top of his key organization roles, Watts won two SKillsUSA national championships in Entrepreneurship while he was at CVCC.
He is currently enrolled at Appalachian State University as a business finance major.
“As I reflect on my term as president I like to think of myself as a president who was leading its members, but this simply was not the case. The members were leading me,” Watts said. “They taught me not only things technically, but things physically and emotionally as well. I cannot thank my advisors and fellow members enough for all that they have done and all that they have taught me. Every single person I encountered in my journey has proven to me that they all are champions at work. My only regret is not being able to stay in the organization and continue to help the community grow.
CVCC is the only chapter out of 19,000 chapters in the country to be recognized as a SkillsUSA Model of Excellence chapter for the past four years. CVCC’s SkillsUSA Program is supported by the CVCC Foundation, Inc.
For more information about the SkillsUSA program at CVCC, contact Tammy Muller at tmuller@cvcc.edu.
Left to Right: Chandler Watts and Tammy Muller
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