Coffee County Central High School Junior Christian Galindo was elected to be the State President of SkillsUSA Tennessee at the recent State Leadership and Skills Conference held by the organization.

SkillsUSA is a student-led career and technical organization that hosts competitions for fields like criminal justice and skill trades like plumbing, construction, welding, cosmetology, barbering and others.

Galindo was elected President at this year’s conference during the Grand Awards Ceremony. Unlike other organizations that just announce winners, SkillsUSA names their officers during an exercise where current officers form a “v” on stage.

They then pass their lapel pins to the next officers starting from lower-level positions and working their way up to President. Galindo, who was the vice president, recalled making note of who was being announced.

When it got to the fourth person, he says he knew at that point that he would at least maintain his position as Vice President, but when a new Vice President was announced, he new he had gotten the presidency, a moment Galindo says was “a mix of emotions.”

“It was sad that the term was ending… but it was also a lot of excitement because knowing that I got the presidency role, I looked forward to it a lot,” he recalled. “It was a lot of emotions but mostly happiness. It was very exciting getting to represent all 6,000 members of SkillsUSA Tennessee. It was a very memorable moment for sure.”

Duties for the State President include serving as a liaison between students, teachers and organizers. Galindo will also get to serve on the Executive Council who will have a say in the SkillsUSA Constitution and bylaws and have input in changes to the organization, a symbol of the organization being student-led.

He first joined SkillsUSA after making a deal with Advisor Jon Spears while competing in robotics for the National Beta Club. The deal was that if Galindo placed at State in the Beta competition, then he could join SkillsUSA early as an observer.

Galindo held up his end of the deal and was able to join the organization. It was during a competition he was observing where competitors had to build a house frame and then wire it for electricity that he started to realize what the organization had to offer.

“Just seeing the opportunities that SkillsUSA gives to its members to get that experience you don’t really get with other organizations is something that stood out to me and something I knew I wanted to be a part of,” said Galindo.

Spears says that he noticed early on that Galindo may have potential to eventually try for an officer spot for the organization.

“He’s outgoing and has very good leadership skills and can talk to anybody,” he recalled. “He can make friends easy, and I just thought his outgoing personality was a great fit.”

Galindo explained that he started to investigate how he could become more involved with SkillsUSA and connected with former State Treasurer and CCCHS alum Aryanna Nelson to learn more.

“I actually had some mutual friends with her so I was able to connect with her by the end of my freshman year and ask her about the State officer program and what it entails, and after she laid it all out for me and what we do, I just decided that I really wanted to be a part of the program,” explained Galindo.

In addition to his State duties, Galindo, a junior, is also the treasurer of the local SkillsUSA organization and also a member of DECA and FBLA. He was also recently elected to be the Student Body President at CCCHS for the 2026-27 school year.

When he graduates from high school, Galindo says he wants to pursue some sort of engineering degree, though he hasn’t settled on what field of engineering, something he notes that being a member of SkillsUSA and other organizations has helped with.

“My biggest fear when people ask what I’m going to do in the future is making the wrong choice,” he said. “Through SkillsUSA and every other program that I’ve done, I think I have a good basis of where I’m going and what I want to do that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t do these organizations.”

In addition to engineering, Galindo also says he wants to minor in political science with aspirations to one day hold political office but not until he’s in his 40s.

“You’re looking at one of your next mayors of Coffee County,” interjected Spears with the utmost surety.

Spears also noted that, in addition to the technical skills that CCCHS students can hone in SkillsUSA, they also have opportunities for community service such as collecting toys for the Coffee County Rescue Squad’s annual toy drive.

They can also find their way out of their shell with competitions and other activities.

“They come in shy, and then they open up, and then they blossom,” said Spears.

An obvious proponent of student organizations, Galindo says that SkillsUSA is what students want to make out of the opportunity.

“If you want to make it something easy and just another competition, you can do that, and you will still gain soft skills and technical skills for your future, but I think it’s important for everyone to know that there’s so many opportunities in SkillsUSA, not only just for State officers but local officers to,” he emphasized.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are or what you already know,” continued Galindo. “The door is truly open for anybody that’s willing to go through it.”