Sam Soto is National College / Postsecondary President for SkillsUSA!

Sam Soto, a twenty-two year old Computer Information Systems student at Tennessee Technology Center at Knoxville was elected National SkillsUSA College/Postsecondary President on June 25, 2010. His term began on June 26, 2010 and will end at the conclusion of the 2011 National conference, June 24, 2011. He will be one of the presiding officers at the SkillsUSA National Conference in Kansas City, MO in June 2011 where over 15,000 people will be in attendance.
SkillsUSA is based in Leesburg, VA. and serves more than 300,000 members who work or receive training in technical, skilled and service occupations. It is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working toward ensuring a skilled workforce. All Tennessee Technology Centers are member institutions of SkillsUSA which allows their students to be members. Some students compete at the State and National levels while others like Sam serve in leadership positions.
Sam had a rough start in life due to contracting Ulcerative Colitis on the first day of school in eighth grade. His illness caused him to miss two years of high school which he says left him very introverted and socially awkward. Despite that setback, Sam began accepting leadership roles early in life. He has served as a teacher’s assistant in high school and an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader in the Boy Scouts of America. 
After he enrolled at Tennessee Technology Center Sam continued to develop his leadership skills and was elected as Tennessee College/Postsecondary SkillsUSA Vice President in November, 2009.  Serving as Vice President allowed him to grow personally and professionally in a very short amount of time.  Midway through his term he decided that he wanted to share his story to a large audience by running for National Office. According to Mr. Jeff Davis, the Director of the Tennessee Technology Center at Knoxville, “Sam is one of those rare individuals who steps up to help whenever he sees need. His helpfulness and positive attitude has helped him become the person he is today and the leader he will be tomorrow.”
Sam is pursuing a career in Information Technology and hopes to one day to be a high school teacher. He believes life should be lived according to the following quote: "I hope that my achievements in life shall be these -- that I will have fought for what was right and fair, that I will have risked for that which mattered, and that I will have given help to those who were in need and that I will have left the earth a better place for what I've done and who I've been."