Student projects from InTech Collegiate High School win TSA Conference awards

Members of <a href=”http://www.intechchs.org/”>InTech Collegiate High School’s</a> Technology Student Association (TSA) made an impressive showing at the Utah TSA State Conference, which took place March 14-15, at the Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville. Eight of the school’s projects placed in the top three of their respective categories, with four of the honors being first place awards. Students involved with those four projects will advance to the TSA National Conference, being held June 20-25, in Orlando, Florida.

“I could not be more proud of my students and the quality of work that they exhibit,” said Julie Lamarra, InTech TSA adviser, in a news release from the school’s administration. “We are all so excited to compete at the National level in Orlando, Florida this June.”

Zaya Nunez, who will compete in Orlando on InTech’s Fashion Design and Technology team, is excited to travel with her classmates on a “baby vacation that you get to go on just with friends.”

“I’m not going to lie,” Nunez said. “The competition part of TSA is a little stressful because everything is coordinated ‘to a T’ and you have to get to a certain area at this time or else they won’t judge your piece, but other than that I think I’m looking forward to just the bonding experience and maybe meeting new people.

Prior to the National Conference, Nunez’s team is responding to feedback given during the state competition, reviewing their written report and improving the fit of the denim overalls they designed. The team will also make a blouse to be worn beneath the overalls.

As the Orlando trip approaches, Adriane Dudley, part of InTech’s Coding team, is excited to demonstrate her team’s mastery of the C++ programming language.

“I learned a lot of teamwork skills at the state competition, and we really worked together to get our skills up to par,” she said. “I’m looking forward to showing off my talents in coding and just having a good time.”

The mission of <a href=”http://www.tsaweb.org/”>TSA</a> is to enhance personal development, leadership and career opportunities for students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The organization helps its members “apply and integrate these concepts through intracurricular activities, competitive events and related programs.”

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned being a part of TSA,” said Nunez, “is learning how to be a little more outgoing and reaching outside of my bubble. I wasn’t really the type who would go out and try to become friends with everyone, but I’ve noticed after I joined TSA, I’ve been a little bit more outgoing and more willing to talk to other students, especially at the competition.”

Many TSA competition categories require students to address specific themes or problems, submitting original project designs. For example, in the “Children’s Stories” category, students created a hard-bound pop-up book, with pop-ups illustrating the story. In the “Coding” category, teams were given five software engineering problems to solve and raced to see which team was the fastest.

In the “Fashion Design and Technology” category, which InTech swept for the third straight year, students were required to design and create three different garment prototypes using recycled materials. The project focused on the importance of sustainability given diminishing supplies of new materials from which to develop fabrics. InTech’s winners in this category were:

<ul><li>1<sup>st</sup> Place: Nana Boeteng, Chloe Olsen, Jessica Wyllie, Zaya Nunez</li><li>2<sup>nd</sup> Place: Sydney Swan, Zoe Howes, Lexi Echols, Adriane Dudley</li><li>3<sup>rd</sup> Place: Mary McBride, Abby McBride, Clara Kimber, Amelia Kimber</li></ul>

“My students work so hard to create original work and compete in TSA,” said Lamarra. “Starting their projects in August, they exemplify dedication and determination, spending countless hours outside of school to really make their projects shine.”

Other InTech projects winning awards at the 2017 Utah TSA Conference included:

<ul><li>1<sup>st</sup> Place in Children’s Stories: Ami Iverson and Lexi Echols</li><li>1<sup>st</sup> Place in Coding: Carter Bogdan, Jacob McInnes and Adriane Dudley</li><li>1<sup>st</sup> Place in VEX Robotics: Olivia Lam, Ben Hunneman, Thayne Williams, Jacob McInnes, Jacob Bills and Michael Keyser</li><li>2<sup>nd</sup> Place in Music Production: Kathryn Maynard, Alex Montoya and Krystal Snider</li><li>3<sup>rd</sup> Place in Photographic Technology: Zaya Nunez</li></ul>

A description of the projects’ themes and problems by category is available at <a href=”http://www.tsaweb.org/Themes-and-Problems”>www.tsaweb.org/Themes-and-Problems</a>, with more in-depth explanations found at <a href=”http://www.tsaweb.org/High-School-Competitions”>www.tsaweb.org/High-School-Competitions</a>.

InTech Collegiate High School is one of six public “Early College” high schools in Utah and partners with Utah State University to expand STEM education and career development. The school is one of only three Utah high schools to receive four consecutive “A” grades, also receiving honors from the Washington Post and U.S. News &amp; World Report. The school’s principal is Jason Stanger.

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