2026 SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary Advisor of the Year
2025 SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary Advisor of the Year
Dr. Sharon Couch
Pellissippi State Community College
Honoring Transformational Leadership
SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary is proud to recognize Dr. Sharon Couch of Pellissippi State Community College as the 2026 SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary Advisor of the Year.
Dr. Couch has transformed SkillsUSA at Pellissippi State into a thriving, inclusive, and strategically aligned student leadership and workforce development program. Her work reflects the highest ideals of SkillsUSA: developing students who are technically skilled, professionally prepared, confident, ethical, and ready to lead in their careers and communities.
A Chapter Built for Growth
Under Dr. Couch’s leadership, SkillsUSA at Pellissippi State Community College has grown from a small group of participating programs into a broad, active chapter representing 23 academic programs. This growth reflects her ability to build relationships across campus, engage faculty, and create meaningful access for students across multiple disciplines.
Her leadership has also produced measurable student success. Pellissippi State students earned 11 state medals and 3 national medals in 2024, followed by 22 medals, including 5 national medals, in 2025. The chapter also earned the prestigious James D. King Award, further demonstrating the strength and quality of the program she has helped build.
Leading Through the SkillsUSA Framework
Dr. Couch’s approach to advising is rooted in intentional student development. She has embedded the SkillsUSA Framework into chapter operations, officer training, student engagement, event planning, reflection, and leadership development. Rather than treating SkillsUSA as a competition-only experience, she has built a comprehensive leadership ecosystem where students develop Personal Skills, Workplace Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics.
Through programs such as the Pellissippi Student Leadership Institute, Leaders Who Lunch, SkillsUSA Week, Engagement Fair, Fall Fest, and officer strategy meetings, students practice communication, responsibility, professionalism, planning, teamwork, service, and career readiness in real-world settings.
Dr. Couch describes Career and Technical Education through the lens of the “Three C’s”: Competence, Confidence, and Becoming a Competitor. Her work helps students move beyond participation and into ownership of their growth, their story, and their future.
Student-Centered Impact
Dr. Couch’s influence is most clearly seen in the students she serves. Her students are not only competing and earning recognition; they are learning how to articulate their growth, advocate for themselves, represent their programs, and connect their SkillsUSA experiences to workforce readiness.
“She does not just talk about Champion Your Future — she lives it.”
— Lou Rey Valenzuela, SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary State President
Lou Rey Valenzuela credits Dr. Couch’s investment, advocacy, and belief in student potential as a key part of his journey from adult learner to chapter president and Tennessee Postsecondary State President. His words reflect the heart of her work: she sees what students can become and helps them believe it for themselves.
Service Beyond Campus
Dr. Couch’s impact extends beyond Pellissippi State. She has served as a SkillsUSA Tennessee leadership trainer, CliftonStrengths facilitator, technical chair, and member of the SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary Executive Committee. She has also supported the development of five Technical Chairs for state conference events, strengthening both local and statewide SkillsUSA programming.
Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to building systems that last. She has helped align SkillsUSA with Pellissippi State’s Career Immersion strategy, proving that co-curricular leadership experiences are not secondary to academic learning — they are essential to preparing students for meaningful careers and lives of service.
About Dr. Sharon Couch
Dr. Sharon Couch serves as the Director of Student Engagement and Leadership at Pellissippi State Community College and Lead Faculty Advisor for SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary at PSCC. She leads student engagement, leadership development, and belonging initiatives across five campuses.
A two-time U.S. Olympian and one of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s most decorated female student-athletes, Dr. Couch brings a performance mindset to student leadership development. She previously spent nearly 12 years at the University of Tennessee and the UT System designing leadership education and performance coaching across four campuses. She holds a Ph.D. in Kinesiology/Sport Studies with an emphasis on performance.
Her professional work reflects a rare combination of competitive excellence, student advocacy, strategic thinking, and deep care for helping students become who they are capable of becoming.
Highlights
- 2025 SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary Advisor of the Year
- Director of Student Engagement and Leadership, Pellissippi State Community College
- Lead Faculty Advisor, PSCC SkillsUSA Tennessee Postsecondary
- Expanded SkillsUSA participation to 23 active academic programs
- Helped students earn 33 state medals and 8 national medals
- Led chapter growth, resulting in the Two SkillsUSA Chapters of Excellence Awards
- Developed a State Chapter Officer, President, and National Officer Candidate
- SkillsUSA Tennessee leadership trainer and Executive Committee member
- CliftonStrengths facilitator and student leadership educator
- Two-time U.S. Olympian and former World Championship team member
A Champion for Students
Dr. Sharon Couch represents what it means to be a SkillsUSA advisor: a mentor, builder, advocate, strategist, and champion for students. Her leadership has created opportunity, expanded access, strengthened student confidence, and elevated the role of SkillsUSA as a powerful force for career readiness and personal growth.
SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary is honored to recognize Dr. Couch as the 2025 SkillsUSA Tennessee College/Postsecondary Advisor of the Year.