By Tom Schardin, Staff Writer

Registered nurses run the in the family of Burnsville High School junior Alicia Evans of Savage.

Her grandmother was an RN. So are her mother and sister.

“I guess that field is being passed down the line,” said Evans.

This past April, Evans got a sampling of her future career. She and two other BHS students participated in the 2008 SkillsUSA Minnesota State Leadership and Skills Conference in Bloomington. The conference focused on technical skills demonstration in 70 events with over 250 high school students competing, along with 600 college students.

Evans and juniors Andre Guillen and Caitlyn Niedert are in the medical careers program at Dakota County Secondary Technical Center, which made them eligible for the conference.

Guillen won first place in the open job skill demonstration contest, was second in first aid/CPR and third in quiz bowl.

Niedert was second in both the basic health care skills contest and the job skill demonstration, while Evans was third in first aid/CPR.

“It was fun experience,” said Evans. “It was a great opportunity to compete in something that is going to be a big part of what I want to do. I met a lot good people and everyone there was so supportive.”

With members of her family already in the nursing field, there was a good chance Evans would be choosing that career route, as well. But that was confirmed last year when she took some medical-related classes at Dakota County Secondary Technical Center.

“I’ve always been interested in the nursing field,” said Evans. “It’s obviously a big part of my family.”

Guillen wants to pursue a career in anesthesiology after high school. He also qualified for the SkillsUSA National Skills and Leadership Conference in Kansas City June 23-27. The first place winners at the state level advance to the national competition.

Guillen said the state conference was a tremendous learning experience. The competition was fun but, more importantly, the support of the leaders at the conference made the event even more worthwhile.

SkillsUSA Minnesota is a leadership organization for students pursuing technical careers. The contests are geared to “build and reinforce technical skills, self-confidence, work attitudes and communication skills. The contests are held in nine career fields: arts and communication, construction, health services, legal and protective services, hospitality, human services, manufacturing, science, engineering and technology and transportation.

However, not all the competitions at the Minnesota conference are career orientated. Guillen won in the open job skill demonstration by performing magic, something he hasn’t done since he was in junior high school.

Guillen said the open job skill demonstration is there to allow students to step away from their career fields and show off their other talents, whatever those may be. Guillen used to perform his magic act at retirement homes.

“I haven’t done magic in a long time and this was the perfect opportunity for it,” said Guillen. “I had a lot of fun with it. It went better than I thought it would.”