Washington Leadership Training Institute
2026 Tennessee WLTI Experience
Tennessee College/Postsecondary members traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week of leadership development, national connections, experiential learning, advocacy preparation, and opportunities to put the SkillsUSA Framework into action.
2026 Recap
Washington Became the Classroom
WLTI combined SkillsUSA national leadership programming with a Tennessee-designed learning sequence that moved members from preparation, to experience, to reflection, and finally to application.
Students strengthened their leadership voice, connected what they were seeing in Washington to career and technical education, practiced telling their own stories, and represented their colleges and career fields in professional conversations.
The 2026 Experience
Learn. Practice. Lead. Make It Real.
National Leadership Training
Students participated in SkillsUSA national leadership programming alongside members from across the country.
Tennessee Leadership Academies
Two Tennessee-specific academies connected preparation, experience, reflection, storytelling, career readiness, and advocacy.
Washington Leadership Quest
Washington became the classroom as teams connected historic places and experiences to leadership, careers, CTE, and the SkillsUSA Framework.
Capitol Hill
Members represented SkillsUSA, their colleges, career fields, and Tennessee through professional conversations with congressional offices.
The Ripple Effect
Numbered kindness cards challenged participants to turn leadership into action and create an impact that could continue beyond Washington.
Framework Stories
Students practiced explaining what they experienced, the skills they developed, and the impact those experiences had on themselves and others.
National Statesman Award
Participants demonstrated SkillsUSA knowledge, leadership, citizenship, and civic engagement while working toward national recognition.
National Connections
Tennessee members built relationships with students, advisors, and SkillsUSA leaders from across the nation.
Tennessee Leadership Academies
A Deliberate Leadership-Learning Sequence
Tennessee College/Postsecondary added two delegation-specific leadership academies to the national WLTI experience so students could prepare before their Washington experiences, make meaning from what they encountered, and practice applying that learning.
Leadership Academy I
Saturday's working academy prepared students to connect, advocate, navigate Washington as a learning team, and intentionally capture evidence of what they were learning.
CTE & Advocacy
Students explored SkillsUSA, career and technical education, the Carl D. Perkins Act, and how personal experiences help explain the human impact of workforce investment.
Washington Leadership Quest
Students moved through Washington as learning teams, connecting historic places and experiences to leadership, career fields, the SkillsUSA Framework, and advocacy.
Leadership Academy II
On Monday, students shared 60-second Quest commercials, practiced Framework Stories, received advisor feedback, revised their stories, and prepared for Tuesday's advocacy conversations.
Student Voice
From Practice to Professional Conversation
The Tennessee experience was designed so students did not arrive at advocacy conversations with a script to recite. They practiced explaining their own experiences, career pathways, SkillsUSA growth, and what those experiences mean for Tennessee's future workforce.
Tennessee members met with congressional offices to share their experiences in career and technical education and the workforce pathways they are preparing to enter.
Level Up Kindness
The Ripple Effect
Leadership is also what you cause to happen around you.
During Tennessee Leadership Academy I, members received numbered Tennessee Ripple Cards and were challenged to recognize, encourage, thank, or help someone. After completing an act of kindness, participants could record what happened and pass the card forward so its journey could continue.
The idea was simple: small actions can create an impact far beyond the person who starts them, and the cards can keep moving long after the delegation returned home.
Washington Leadership Quest
Experience First. Reflection Second.
Teams explored Washington and captured what they were learning. Those experiences became the raw material for Monday's 60-second Quest commercials and Framework Story exchanges.
Washington became the classroom as Tennessee members connected historic places, leadership, career fields, and the SkillsUSA Framework.
Leadership, Citizenship & Service
Honoring Service and Sacrifice
Experiences throughout Washington connected leadership to citizenship, history, service, and responsibility.
SkillsUSA members honored service and sacrifice at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the national WLTI experience.
National Statesman Leadership Award
Recognition Earned Through the WLTI Experience
Participants worked toward the National Statesman Leadership Award through SkillsUSA knowledge, leadership development, citizenship, conference participation, and civic engagement.
The recognition marked more than completion. It captured the preparation, participation, and growth members demonstrated throughout the week.
Tennessee members were recognized on the national stage for earning the SkillsUSA National Statesman Award.
Washington, D.C.
Leadership in Context
National landmarks, memorials, SkillsUSA programming, Tennessee activities, and congressional visits gave students multiple ways to connect leadership to history, citizenship, careers, and service.
2026 Photo Story
Real People. Real Experiences.
These images are from the Tennessee College/Postsecondary 2026 WLTI experience.
2026 Resources
Resources From the Tennessee Delegation Experience
Keep the 2026 materials available as a permanent record and as a resource for future participants and advisors.
Archive
WLTI Press Releases
Continue the Journey
Take What You Learned Back to Tennessee
WLTI is not the finish line. The leadership, communication, confidence, and connections built in Washington are meant to be used in chapters, colleges, careers, and communities.