North Medford High CTE teacher Kirstie Christopherson, middle, works with sophomore Zane Messer, left, and senior Evan Nieuwenhuis June 6.

North Medford High School teacher Kirstie Christopherson has come a long way from the small town of Durham, California, where decades ago she helped start her high school’s chapter of Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, now known as SkillsUSA.

Christopherson began teaching for the Medford School District during the 1992-93 school year, and in 2005-06, became the head adviser for the career and technical student organization serving hundreds of thousands of schools. On Tuesday in Atlanta, during SkillsUSA’s national conference, the organization will present Christopherson with the Honorary Life member award, SkillsUSA’s highest honor. 

“It’s the Hall of Fame of SkillsUSA, so I feel great,” Christopherson said, adding that she is a bit nervous about hearing her name called in a convention hall filled with tens of thousands of people.

One of her students who will be with her, North Medford sophomore Bella Billups, believes Christopherson is deserving of the honor. 

“I’m proud of her that she got this award,” said Billups, who competes in architectural drafting for SkillsUSA. “She’s really worked hard for a number of years, and she does the best she can do in all of her classes.”

“I am not surprised at all that she won an award for her work with SkillsUSA — she’s been doing it for a very long time,” said Michael Parker, who graduated from North Medford of 2007 and was a SkillsUSA state champion in cabinet-making.

“It’s clear that she’s making a big difference in a lot of kids lives, if they’re willing to put in the effort to come to that competition,” said Parker, who is now the tool engineering team lead for Boeing in Portland.

This week isn’t the first time Christopherson has been honored by SkillsUSA. In 2016, she was named “Outstanding Oregon Adviser,” and three years later she added “Outstanding Career and Technical Adviser” to her list of awards.

Christopherson’s contributions to SkillsUSA, at least by the numbers, are impressive. Using a spreadsheet, she counted 76 state champions from North Medford High (200 medalists if you count second and third place) since she became adviser. Four North Medford High students, meanwhile, have earned national medals.

“It’s interesting because what I see sometimes is competitive fire in students that I didn’t see … until they go in,” Christopherson said.

She proudly displays in her classroom a list, going back to 1994, of her students who were crowned state champions.

“I can tell you stories about each one of those kids,” Christopherson said.

She reflected on why SkillsUSA is so important for young people. 

“What we know is when a kid is involved in school, in something besides just going to classes, studies show that they’re more successful in school — stepping into their life and leaning in to their education,” Christopherson said. “This is just one avenue.”

A lot of students tell her SkillsUSA was “the highlight” of their high school experience. 

Christopher said she is looking forward to the 2023-24 school year, when she will continue teaching CTE classes and watching students grow their talents in SkillsUSA. 

“I just feel incredibly fortunate that I’ve been able to teach my subject area, and parents entrust me with their kids to give them what they need to know,” she said.