Eric Tecuanhuehue was born in Naperville, Illinois and grew up in Aurora, Illinois. His mother worked as a supervisor at a hotel and his father was a cook. His parents also worked a second job providing cleaning services for office buildings. 

Eric first heard of SkillsUSA Illinois in high school when he began taking Tech Ed classes as he was considering a career in engineering/architecture/drafting. His main instructor pushed him to sign up for multiple years. Fellow wrestling teammates were also members of SkillsUSA Illinois and encouraged him to join, which he eventually did in his senior year. 

In 2010, Eric attended the SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference where he competed in Automated Manufacturing Technology, placing third, and Architectural Drafting for which he did not medal. Eric says looking back at that experience, he met many business professionals as well as people who were CTE/TE teachers at that point and he never realized those would be some of the people he’d be working with and speaking to later in life. 

What Eric really took away from the state conference was that, while he liked his CTE classes, he no longer saw doing those activities as a career he was interested in. Before the competition, he told himself whatever competition he did better in, he would pursue that as his career. After the competition, he realized the competitive and high stakes nature of things was not where his passion lived. School had never been his thing, though he did do better in his Tech Ed courses. When he brought this up to his advisor, Steve Skorup, he was informed he was good at Tech Ed as well as a decent wrestler, so why not make a career out of teaching things he enjoyed?

Eric attended the College of DuPage where he took general education courses and a few teaching courses to make sure it was what he wanted to do. From there, he transferred to Illinois State University where he obtained a BS in Technology and Engineering Education and did student teaching at West Aurora High School. Eric received a lot of offers of employment but was unsure where he should go. He knew he wanted to stay in the district so he could continue coaching. 

Eric had connections with another instructor at Metea he’d gone to school with previously and heard of an opening there. He wanted to give back to the place that had given him so much already, so he applied for and received the offer. Eric is now the assistant varsity wrestling coach and an instructor in the Automotive Program working alongside Nate Wedam, who was the Graduate Assistant for the Technology and Engineering Education program when he was in school. He also serves on a board with his original advisor for the Illinois Design Educators Association. 

When Eric arrived, the Automotive Program had approximately 40 students. It has since grown to roughly 120 students. The program’s development can be attributed to the dynamic energy of the staff who are now teaching overload to keep up with the interest – they don’t want to have to turn anyone away. Even with his busy teaching schedule, Eric still finds time to give back to the organization that helped guide him to where his real aptitude and passion lies – teaching. Eric served as a judge for several years, and is now the SkillsUSA Illinois advisor for his school.

Eric attributes a part of his professional development to his participation in SkillsUSA Illinois. He is still a member of some of the professional organizations he was introduced to through the organization and connects with the same people to reach out, consult, and collaborate with. They are able to compare classes and he picks up new things all the time. Building relationships is a key component of networking and that is one of the many things SkillsUSA Illinois instilled in him. He is also able to share his SkillsUSA Illinois experience with his own students and give them a higher level of preparation because of his own experiences. 

Eric encourages others not to wait as long as he did to join the organization. He believes members get back so much more than they put in and the return on investment, while varied amongst participants, end up being just what they need in the end. From connections, to employment offers, to real-world experience, being a member of SkillsUSA Illinois gives everyone a head start on whatever they may encounter in pursuit of their future career.