More than 240 middle and high school students and teachers from 33 schools represented Kentucky during the 2023 Technology Student Association National Conference. About 7,000 attendees from across the world attended the conference in downtown Louisville from June 28 through July 2.
Photo by Mark Harrell, Kentucky Department of Education
More than 240 middle and high school students and teachers from 33 schools represented Kentucky during the 2023 Technology Student Association (TSA) National Conference, and several brought home awards.
“The TSA National Conference is held in various locations around the United States each year, and we were honored to host this year’s conference,” Mark Harrell, Kentucky TSA state advisor, said. “Kentucky has not hosted the national conference since 1996, so we were ecstatic to welcome over 7,000 attendees from across the world to downtown Louisville June 28 through July 2.”
TSA is a national career and technical student organization that supports students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. It is the only career and technical student organization aligned to engineering, aviation, media arts and computer science career pathways in Kentucky. Students learn through competitive events, leadership opportunities, community service and other activities.
During the national conference, students had opportunities to attend leadership and employability workshops and network with fellow students. Students from across the world competed in more than 70 STEM-related competitions, such as computer-aided design, coding, engineering design, forensic technology and technology bowl.
Kentucky students placed as top finalists in several categories. These competitive events, students and their placement and chapter representations are:
- Animatronics (high school): Erikah Brown, Rose Freer and Karter Holbrook; 5th place, Ignite Institute (Boone County);
- Architectural Design (high school): Andrew Bradford, Jackson Kennedy, Brogan McBride and Lily Miles; 4th place, Lafayette High School (Fayette County);
- Architectural Design (high school): Erin Crimmins, Kate Hans and Micah Muhlenkamp; 6th place, Glasgow High School (Glasgow Independent);
- Board Game Design (high school): Morgan Hedrick and Brooklyn Hunt, 10th place, Bardstown High School (Bardstown Independent);
- CAD Engineering (high school): Brad Mahung, 1st place, Glasgow High School (Glasgow Independent);
- Children’s Stories (high school): Morgan Hedrick and Michelle Hundley, 3rd place, Bardstown High School (Bardstown Independent);
- Children’s Stories (middle school): Rysen McCoy and Jocelyn Smith, 9th place, Belfry Middle School (Pike County);
- Community Service Video (middle school): Kaitlyn Brucal, Rysen McCoy and Jocelyn Smith; 6th place, Belfry Middle School (Pike County);
- Debating Technological Issues (high school): Ellen Fei and Christina Lin, 10th place, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County);
- Digital Photography (middle school): Kaitlyn Brucal, 4th place, Belfry Middle School (Pike County);
- Essays on Technology (high school): Ellen Fei, 9th place, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County);
- Flight Endurance (high school): Connor Stephens, 9th place, McCreary Central High School (McCreary County);
- Manufacturing Prototype (high school): Giovanni Andrew, Elijah Watson and Isaiah Watson; 10th place, ILEAD Academy (Carroll County);
- Mechanical Engineering (middle school): Alexis Adkins and Maggie Baird, 6th place, Pikeville Junior High (Pikeville Independent);
- Prepared Presentation (high school): Grace Sun, 2nd place, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County);
- Software Development (high school): Ellen Fei and Anthony Zhang, 1st place, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County);
- Structural Design and Engineering (high school): Hope Meyers and Lily Miles, 6th place, Lafayette High School (Fayette County);
- Technology Bowl (high school): Rosalie Huff, Sofia Raab and Braden Stamper; 1st place, Frederick Douglass High School (Fayette County):
- Video Game Design (high school): Arimitsu Horikawa-Strakovsky and Anthony Zhang, 9th place, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County);
- Video Game Design (middle school): Drew Fluharty, Casper (Cain) Herrington and Bennett Lanter; 9th place, Southern Middle School (Fayette County);
- Video Game Design (middle school): Sean Fleece and Dakota Woods, 10th place, Eminence Middle School (Eminence Independent); and
- Webmaster (high school): Vedant Garg, Suriya Nithyanandan, Neil Patil, Bhuvan Sanga and Alvina Singh; 7th place, duPont Manual High School (Jefferson County)
“Kentucky continues to have an increased need for STEM professionals and TSA is creating the talent pool needed for Kentucky to stay competitive,” said Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) STEM Program Consultant Amanda Boggs. “The TSA National Conference could not happen without community and industry partners helping to judge more than 70 competitive events. We appreciate all those who took the time to make this conference happen.”
In addition to the competitive events awards, Ariel Fader from Ryle High School (Boone County) was elected by her peers to the TSA National Officer Team. Fader will serve as national treasurer for the 2023-2024 school year.
“I am honored and excited to serve as the National TSA treasurer,” Fader said. “This is a chance to use my voice to amplify fellow youth voices and make meaningful changes across states. I appreciate all the members and advisors around me who supported my journey, and I look forward to what we will accomplish as the national officer team.”
Other recognitions include:
- Aaron Hunt from Bardstown High School (Bardstown Independent) was named Kentucky High School Chapter Advisor of the Year;
- Andrew Baldwin, Belfry Middle School (Pike County), was named Kentucky Middle School Chapter Advisor of the Year;
- Staci Davis, Southern Middle School (Fayette County), received the Distinguished Alumni Award; and
- Daryen Rodriguez Saucedo, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County), received the Dr. Bob Hanson Distinguished Student Award.
“The Office of Career and Technical Education is honored that Kentucky was able to host this year’s TSA National Conference in Louisville and congratulate all of the award winners,” said Beth Hargis, associate commissioner in KDE’s Office of Career and Technical Education. “We are very proud of our Kentucky TSA advisors and congratulate them and everyone responsible for a successful national conference. Most importantly, we recognize the accomplishments of Kentucky’s students, their dedication to TSA and wish them the best in their pursuit of STEM careers.”
TSA’s membership includes more than 309,000 middle and high school students in approximately 2,400 schools across 48 states and several countries. It is open to students enrolled in or participating in STEM middle and high school courses.
“The diversity of activities offers the potential for growth of every member; students create excitement while being able to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world applications,” said Kentucky TSA State Coordinator Andy Stephenson. “From engineers to business managers, alumni credit TSA with a positive influence on their lives and their decision to pursue STEM careers. Educators, families and business leaders who believe in the need for a future STEM workforce support TSA.”
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