JCHS student visits Congress

Jefferson City High School students change classes for the first time in this 2015-16 school year.
Jefferson City High School students change classes for the first time in this 2015-16 school year.

Greih Murray was among 426 students and instructors urging Congress to reauthorize funding that supports career and technical education centers across the country.

The Blair Oaks High School senior traveled to Washington, D.C., with vocational resource educator Stacy Buschman from Nichols Career Center. They met with Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Sen. Claire McCaskill and Sen. Roy Blunt as part of SkillsUSA's Washington Leadership Training Institute.

The five-day training institute is sponsored each year by SkillsUSA to provide students an opportunity to learn about the democratic process, according to a JCHS news release. SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry to ensure America has a skilled workforce.

Murray is part of the computer technology program at Nichols, which is readying him for an entry-level position in the field right out of high school. The Perkins Career and Technical Education Program is a $1.1 billion federal program, but it hasn't been reauthorized by Congress since 2006. It supports centers like Nichols and benefits high school students nationwide.

Murray and 17 other Missouri students prepared their joint speeches to explain to lawmakers how career and technical education has impacted their lives and pressed the four leaders to continue funding for the program.

The technical education classes have taught Murray skills he likely wouldn't have obtained in high school otherwise, like coding in several program languages and learning about computer hardware.

"All of the officers shared a little of their personal stories and how SkillsUSA has helped us and how Perkins funding allows us to operate and join SkillsUSA to gain this knowledge," Murray said. "Before I joined SkillsUSA, I was always the one who wasn't good at speaking in any public setting. If I didn't know the person I was talking to, I would stutter and couldn't carry on a conversation. Because of SkillsUSA, I'm better at speaking and it allows me to make more connections."

Missouri's lawmakers said they were supportive of the Perkins program and found it helpful that students shared their stories, Murray said.

Having students advocate for a program that directly benefits them is much more personal and impactful than adults doing it for them, Buschman said.

This month, the House of Representatives passed the bill 405-5, and it's moving on to the Senate.

The bill is H.R. 5587.