From February 21st through the 24th, OCSA’s Technology Student Association (TSA) competed at the 2024 Florida TSA State Conference and Competition, held at the Double Tree Hilton Resort at the entrance of Universal Orlando! They competed in several STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) events, of which included biotechnology, fashion design and technology, extemporaneous speech, forensics, on demand video, audio podcasting, and children’s stories.
Last year’s sponsor was Mrs. Smith, however this year, Mrs. Brown took over the club. “Since I’m a new sponsor to the club, this was like my first time doing any of the events with the kids. So, I really just kind of sat back and watched them shine. They all were really dedicated to their event, and so it was kind of like a self-run thing. Each student in each event were working on their event simultaneously… so it was really up to the students how dedicated they were and how much time and effort they wanted to put into their event.” she said.
When asked how to describe this competition, Mrs. Brown said, “For students who don’t know what TSA is, I would say that it’s competitive based, and nationally recognized, and students who compete gain a lot of experience with working on a team toward a project that their interested in. So, opposed to a strictly academic competition, they can focus on an event that interests them the most… there’s a big range of events that students can connect with, and that’s what I like best about the club.”
Among the students, senior band major Solomon Geleta competed in Forensic Science and his team placed second in the category!
“The competition experience is always fun and collaborative as you get to spend the day at the conference working with your team members on events, spirit activities, or just enjoying what the conference has to offer. Each category requires a different approach to the event as they all have their own requirements and rubrics. We use the Competitive Events Guide to lead us along the journey with each event, making sure we are covering all required content in the instructions.” Solomon says that the TSA club is a chance to explore varying categories of STEAM topics that you may have never encountered before all while doing this alongside your friends.
“Through TSA, I was able to learn how to work under pressure and perform at a high level even when stakes were high. At the same time, I learned how to interact with others in a productive way, strengthening my relationships with them and allowing everyone to have a great competition experience. One thing I want students to know who are interested in joining TSA is that you should never be too afraid to do an event and go through with it. Some events seem intimidating and stressful at times, but if you put your heads together and work hard, you’ll be able to create a product you’re really proud of.”
Another student in the TSA club, junior band major Ella Kim, competed in the events of Fashion Design and Technology, Audio Podcasting, and Children’s Stories. Her Audio Podcasting Team placed 5th overall in the state, her Fashion Design Team placed 7th overall in the state, and her Children’s stories team placed 8th overall in the state.
“For me, the TSA conference is always a very special time of year. It’s so inspiring to see how all of our groups come together to finally showcase the projects and events they’ve been working on for months. There’s a certain kind of electricity about the conference that can only come from the hundreds of students gathered together from across the state who are excited to compete and demonstrate all of their hard work and talent to one another. The incredible thing about TSA is the amount of diversity within the events that students can participate in. There’s your more STEM oriented events like coding and biotechnology design but there is also a wide away of others such as fashion design, audio podcasting, video game design, and photography… Whether you’re prepping with a team member for an on-the-spot debate against another school’s team, strutting through the conference rooms in your custom designed dress, or making your own fingerprinting powder for the upcoming crime scene analysis, TSA always has surprises and unforgettable memories to offer each year.”
“I think, overall, the students really surprised me being so driven, like, really it was them. I did barely anything besides cheer them on the sidelines, but they really, really, did an amazing job on their projects and they just like, make OCSA proud, basically, on their own.” said Mrs. Brown.
Congratulations to OCSA’s TSA to an amazing State Conference and Competition and some incredible placings!
