By virtue of their success at the State level, twelve Clay County Middle School students earned the opportunity to compete in the National Technology Student Association Competition. Thousands of students from across the country compete at this event. Under normal circumstances, the participants would have traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete in person the last week of June. Due to the pandemic, it was held virtually. The virtual TSA competitive events closely mirrored traditional competitive events, with changes primarily in submission procedures. Rather than appearing in person, participants were required to upload projects and supporting document portfolios to a judging platform. The projects were scored by judges from all over the nation. Semi-finalists, the top twelve projects in each event, were announced and those individuals were interviewed online in real-time. The events began on June 1st and continued throughout the month. A virtual awards ceremony was held on June 23-25 where finalists, whose projects were scored as one of the top ten in the nation, were announced. The top three in each event won trophies.
Of the twelve CCMS students who competed at nationals, six were named as top ten finalists in at least one event; three earned the honor in two events. They were: Ariel Dobbins and Sawyer Dobbins (4th place, STEM Animation); Ilyauna Evans, Madison Morton and Katie Price (5th place, Construction Challenge), Ariel Dobbins (8th place, Children’s Stories); Sawyer Dobbins and Ilyauna Evans (8th place, Challenging Tech Issues);and Jaxon Brown (8th place, Career Prep).
In addition to the students’ success, Chapter Advisor Jessica Ramsey won a Comp TIA Stipend Award. TSA recognizes that being a teacher is not always easy, even under optimal conditions. It requires dedication, energy, creativeness, and resiliency, and TSA’s chapter advisors go above and beyond the call of duty. As such, thirty chapter advisors across the nation were recognized and awarded a monetary stipend for their hard work keeping students engaged during the COVID pandemic. The money may be used as each chapter advisor wishes, professionally or personally, with no restrictions.
Congratulations to Ms. Ramsey and her students for their TSA success this year.