Frost Students are Finalists and Winners at TSA Conference

When the awards were called out on Saturday morning at the TSA conference, Frost students joined other FCPS students on the stage as finalists and winners in the week's competitions. Matthew Barbano was 3rd in the nation in the "Zap It" Electrical Applications challenge and was a finalist in the Go Green Manufacturing Challenge. Shanmuka Gadiraju joined teammates Brett and Amy from Washington Irving MS on the stage to receive the 3rd place trophy for the Global Manufacturing Challenge. Finally, Su-Ah Lee and Daniel Ruiz were semi-finalists in the Inventions & Innovations Challenge.

Frost students competed in a number of other challenging events and, while they might not have been the winners, all of them felt that they had done their best and competed well against some of the most tech savvy students in the nation. Almost 4000 students were in attendance representing at least 35 states and one foreign country: There were a dozen or so HS students from a school in Germany that participated and took home several trophies.

In addition to the events listed above, Frost students competed individually or as a team in several challenges and competitions. Shanmuka joined Daniel in the Problem Solving challenge where teams of 2 competed to build the strongest cantilever truss and he worked with Conrad in the Engineering Structure competition to build a bridge from balsa wood sticks. Shanmuka, Conrad and Su-Ah teamed up to tackle the Leadership Strategies challenge and Daniel worked hard in the weeks before the conference to prepare for the Multimedia Production competition, All of them showed great determination and dedication in their preparation of their entries.

I'll have more posts later and provide news of other FCPS student success at the National TSA Conference.

Competitions Complete - Students Look Forward to Awards Ceremony

Friday saw the conclusion of the competitions at the 2011 National TSA Conference. Students from Frost and other FCPS schools tested their structures, completed finalist interviews, flew their gliders and hoped their hovercraft vehicles(!)made it through the obstacle course.

For our Global Manufacturing entry, Shanmuka was joined by his colleagues from Irving MS, Brett and Amy, in the finalist interview. Shanmuka felt that it went well, and is looking forward to learning if their team makes it into the top 3. It didn't go quite as well at Engineering Structure competition, Shanmuka reported that that their bridge didn't quite meet their expectations. But, they were up against hundreds of other students in this challenge. The event seems to be one of the most popular of the MS challenges, I think almost every chapter here sent a team to participate.

After working so hard yesterday (and staying up pretty late)Conrad and Shanmuka were up early to participate as voting delegates in the elections. We are all a bit disappointed that the two Virginians seeking top offices were unsuccessful in their efforts. Fairfax's favorite, Angela Roller- Oakton student and former Northern VA Region TSA president- did not prevail in her race for to be National Vice President. After her race, there was a particularly exciting 5 way contest for TSA President. Our candidate, Jason Dreyzehner, made it into the top three but was eliminated from the final round. We'll learn who won tomorrow morning.

While Frost students, and others from Fairfax, might not have achieved the success they had hoped for- everyone is really glad they came. The experience has been rewarding and the students have had fun.

Thursday: Lots To Do!

There's alot going on today at the National TSA Conference. Frost students are hard at work in a number of competitive events. As I write this, Conrad and Shanmuka ought to be finishing up their bridge construction in the Engineering Structure competition. Conrad was filling in for Su-Ah, who was called to the finalist interviews for the Inventions & Innovations challenge. Meanwhile, Matthew was busy in the finalist demonstration portion of the Zap It! Electical Applications challenge. He was one of 12 finalists after taking the preliminary written test yesterday. We were feeling pretty good about this last night-- Matthew said "Well, I did have to guess on 4 or 5 questions (out of 60!) but felt sure of my answers on the rest."

Later this afternoon, Daniel and Shanmuka will compete in the Problem Solving challenge. They'll be building some sort of structure with a certain list of materials to work from. We'll see how it all comes out!

It is great to be here with these outstanding students! We'll keep you posted on our success!

Marty Farmer

Wednesday - It's Hot in Dallas!

We are at the end of our first full day here at the Technology Student Association National Conference and our students have been working hard in their competitive events. The weather is hot, and so are the competitions. Almost 4000 students from across the country are here to compete for top honors.

For some, the day was about making sure everything was right about their entry before turning it in for judging. Su-Ah and Daniel had to complete a few details before turning in their notebook and plans for the Kenya-Trickya Game, but it is a beautiful game, much more fully realized then the version entered at states where they won a top prize. There was excitement across our whole team when our team showed up on the list of finalists for this event, called Inventions & Innovations.

Matthew had a very busy day, turning in his entry for Go Green Manufacturing and working with Conrad to set up the display for their awesome Medical Technology Issues entry, entitled "Organ on a Chip." But, before he did that, he spent thee hours writing in the "Write Now" competition and taking the preliminary test for the "Zap It- Electronics Applications" challenge. His hard work is paying off: he is an announced finalist in the electronics challenge. Late tonight, we'll look to see if the finalists have been posted for his other two events as well.

Three students (Shanmuka, Conrad and Su-ah) spent the late afternoon working together in the Leadership Strategies competition. Conrad had been part of the award winning team at our state competitions for this event and he was joined today by Shanmuka and Su-Ah.

All of the students were excited to make the trip, and though the school year ended yesterday, these kids weren't done. Tomorrow, Thursday, will be the biggest day for all of the students- they have a lot to do. I'll be reporting with details of their participation and news (we hope)of their success!

Marty Farmer, Chapter Advisor