Lily Williams

Representing the United States at WorldSkills in Car Painting

WorldSkills competitor Lily Williams says the 2024 Car Painting competition will allow her to “experience international travel!” Williams represented the state of Arkansas at the SkillsUSA Championships and won a national gold medal in Automotive Refinishing in 2023. She trained in the Automotive Collision program at Northeast Arkansas Career and Technical Center in Jonesboro, Ark., and will continue training in Collision Repair at Lincoln Tech in Nashville, Tenn., after the competition. Her expert, Jamie Redd from Columbus, Ohio, will train with Williams for the competition. Williams credits her success in learning Automotive Collision Repair to her high school instructors, instructors Jeff Smith and Rachel French. “They both encouraged me and gave me lots of tips and pointers.”

Williams enjoys most the painting portion of Automotive Collision Repair. “I love how it gives me an almost instant gratification since it goes from being broken to fixed and looking nice in a short amount of time.”

Williams says, “Being selected for the 2024 WorldSkills USA Team is such an honor. I’m excited for the chance to compete on this level and for all opportunities that I will be given in the future because of this.”