Keyuri Parmar, younger sister of Mayuri Parmar, was in middle school when her sister began SkillsUSA Illinois. She watched Mayuri compete at the SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference and saw her become a state officer when Keyuri joined SkillsUSA Illinois her freshman year in high school. While watching her sister’s journey may have encouraged her to join SkillsUSA Illinois and fueled her desire to be a state officer, Keyuri took her experience in the program and made it her own. 

When Keyuri joined SkillsUSA Illinois, she attended meetings, events, and regional competitions. She did not go to the state conference until her sophomore year, where she competed in both the Photography and Prepared Speech competitions. That year she also ran for state officer and was elected, serving one year alongside her sister as well as two additional years after on her own. 

After SkillsUSA Illinois, Keyuri worked her way up through various employment positions. She began working as a district sales manager where she completed the training program and was soon managing a team of 15 and oversaw 30 accounts. She credits her officer training and leadership experiences with helping her succeed early on in a management capacity. She says this allowed her to connect and communicate with different kinds of personalities and manage a group effectively. 

Keyuri then became a Regional Execution Associate, working on special projects, where she began reporting to senior leadership. It was in this role she states she used the lessons learned in SkillsUSA Illinois the most. As her skills grew, she moved into a Shopper Marketing Analyst role to prepare herself for a marketing-based position, where she was most interested to be.

Keyuri currently works for PepsiCo and is a Base Brand Marketer for Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, and Near East. She says her position is 50% project based and leads national marketing. In this position, she works on everything from operational planning to base budget billing as well as program building and activation. She deals with data management and analysis as well as report building, which has her in frequent communication with company executives. Keyuri is quick to praise SkillsUSA Illinois for giving her the professional development, soft skills, leadership training, and confidence to feel capable and secure in these types of environments, stating she used to be very introverted before joining the organization. 

There are many ways to experience SkillsUSA, and Keyuri believes no one way is better than the other.

During her term as state officer, Keyuri also ran for national office. While she was not elected, being a part of the process of modeling the government system and campaigning for herself helped in her future committee work as well as her interview skills. She laughs when she says she was likely a better interviewee back then than she is now. Her ability to work with others to build out a plan, however, has not wavered. She’s proud of the things she has accomplished and passionate about SkillsUSA Illinois.

Keyuri speaks to the need for SkillsUSA by addressing national concerns. The skills gap in this country is huge. Students are looking at the four-year degree option and realizing it isn’t the path for them, yet 17 and 18-year-olds are aggressively questioned to determine their planned direction in life. SkillsUSA Illinois exposes students to so many things to help them determine their strengths and passions before having to answer those hard-hitting questions. It even allows them to see whatever they may land on originally doesn’t have to be where they end up, but the lessons learned along the way are something they can take with them wherever they go. 

There are many ways to experience SkillsUSA, and Keyuri believes no one way is better than the other. From observing the first year and getting a lay of the land to jumping in with both feet on the first day, SkillsUSA Illinois has so many experiences available as well as opportunities for students to grow. Leadership, new skills – both hard and soft, potential job/career connections and opportunities, are just a few of the assets to be gained through the organization and Keyuri firmly asserts anyone who is exposed to those things will never regret it.