SkillsUSA Texas Taking Over Del Mar College
Del Mar College
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (News Release) - High school students will converge in Corpus Christi to compete in the Skills USA Texas District 12 Leadership and Skills Conference. This year, Del Mar College (DMC) expects to host hundreds of competitors today through Saturday, Feb. 5-7, as they vie for top spots for statewide competition later this spring.
Organizers anticipate over 500 students competing at the district level, demonstrating their skills not only at DMC facilities at the Windward and Oso Creek Campuses and Center for Economic Development but also other locations around the city.
“The District 12 competition is always a strong event, and Del Mar College plays a big part in that,” said Crystal Latham-Alford, SkillsUSA Texas Executive Director. “They’ve been a reliable, hands-on partner over the years, helping ensure a successful event for our students and advisors, and we truly appreciate the college’s continued support of SkillsUSA Texas.”
High school students from grades 9-12 representing 15 counties across South Texas––even as far away as Laredo and Crystal City––will demonstrate their skills during a variety of contests ranging from architectural drafting to cabinet making to firefighting to robotics to video news production.
Area competitors represent high schools with the Corpus Christi Independent School District––including Carroll, Miller and Ray high schools and the Harold T. Branch Academy––along with students from Alice, Beeville, Bishop, London, Robstown, Rockport and Tuloso-Midway ISDs.
Among this year’s competitions are two themed contests. The Commercial Baking Job Exhibit Competition and the Nail Art Competition feature a thematic focus on “Cosmic Horizons: Reaching for the Stars” so that competitors can base their designs on rockets, spaceships, planets or other space-related elements.
Overall, the 2026 USA Skills Texas District 12 conference includes approximately 96 different categories with DMC faculty and staff, along with industry partner representatives, serving as judges.
The competition closes with an awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. in Wolfe Recital Hall on the college’s Heritage Campus.
Winners will advance to state competition, which is also held in Corpus Christi at the Hilliard Center and other city venues across the city. High school students from across Texas will compete here April 8-11 before winners advance to national competition in Atlanta, Ga., in June.
SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization that serves more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. Given its immense size, the state of Texas is broken up into three SkillsUSA Texas regions that encompass 12 districts.
Nicole Kindzirsky, DMC Industrial Technology Department Instructor and 2025 District 12 Leadership & Skills Conference Contest Coordinator for SkillsUSA Texas, says Del Mar College has hosted district- and state-level competitions for more than a decade, noting that the competition gives students an opportunity to meet and interact with DMC’s experienced and highly dedicated instructors as well as compete in the college’s classrooms and labs.
She says, “In a sense, these District 12 students can feel what it’s like to be a DMC Viking while competing at the college’s facilities. Many of the pathways they have started in high school can lead directly into those we offer and allow them to complete certificates, an associate degree and even a bachelor’s degree as a DMC student.”
