Guy Tiberio was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, and raised in Woodridge and Oswego. His mother was a beautician, and his father was an auto technician turned industrial machine technician. 

Guy first learned of SkillsUSA Illinois in high school, where he sat for the qualifying exam several times. It wasn’t until his freshman year in college that he was able to compete in the SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference, where he placed first in the Automotive Service Technology competition. He then progressed to nationals, where he did not podium, but was thrilled by the experience. Coming from a smaller city, seeing the state and national scale of the program gave him personal insight into just how far of a reach the program had. It was during nationals that Guy decided it would be amazing to be able to do something like this for others, and so his path to being an educator began. 

Right after qualifying for nationals, Guy was offered a job as a technician in a High- performance Automotive shop. The company had heard how well he did at the state conference, and they were eager to have him on their team. Guy accepted the job, but after a few years realized he didn’t want to work on cars every day; his real desire was to teach automotive students. Even though he moved into a teaching role, the connection with his original role is strong enough that Guy still works for the high-performance shop whenever he isn’t teaching.

Guy obtained a BS in Automotive Technology from SIU and accepted a job teaching at the new high school in his hometown of Oswego. At that time, he became a SkillsUSA advisor and built up the automotive program of the school’s SkillsUSA Illinois chapter, which previously only included cabinetmaking. After teaching at the high school for 10 years, he made the move to teaching at the college level and became an advisor in their existing SkillsUSA Illinois automotive program, working alongside his own previous advisor. 

As an advisor, Guy loved seeing the excitement of students preparing for, and during, the competitions. He would talk to his students about his own experience, and that excited them and gave them the motivation to join SkillsUSA Illinois. Watching his students compete gives him a sense of pride and security that they are prepared for whatever future career path they may choose in the trades. He knows they are meeting people they will eventually go up against for jobs, and the competitions allow the students to see where they are now and what they can work on to gain an edge.

From an advisor role, Guy also loves to see the devotion in his students. They want to get together after class to go over things, clarify questions, and address concerns. He gets to know each student as a whole person, not just the part of them in the classroom. Knowing about their life allows him to help them in multiple aspects, and their success makes what he does that much more relevant and meaningful on a deeper level. He is particularly proud to say he was an instructor and advisor to this year’s current state and national conference champion (whose story follows this one). 

Guy wishes the SkillsUSA organization was wider known and utilized, but at this point he urges anyone to join the program because it definitely gives participants an experience others may not have in the job market. Regardless of any competition results, the program is great as a resume builder. More businesses and industries are starting to become aware of the program and they look for the hard and soft skills they know the program provides its participants. 

Guy also urges the schools to try to get their administration on board. There are plenty of clubs for athletics, but not usually a lot of things to celebrate CTE success and skills – SkillsUSA is like the varsity football of any CTE program. Membership hardly costs anything to participate and, while conferences may have a price tag, the potential gain far outweighs the cost. Schools are also able to see what areas of the competitions can be added to their program/ curriculum; especially when compared to the positions local businesses are looking to fill. SkillsUSA is mutually beneficial for the student, school, and industry, and Guy will always advocate for the program anywhere he goes.