TJ welcomes a new CTSO with open arms. photo by Steve Price
TJ has affiliated with a new student organization that will give Spartans more opportunities.
One major benefit of Thomas Jefferson High School is that there are always new things available for the student body. Recently, TJ has partnered with Technology Student Association (TSA), a national student organization. TSA is a non-profit organization made of high school and middle school students that are engaged in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, or Math) courses within their schools. According to the TSA website, over 300,000 students nationwide participate in TSA’s competitions, activities in and out of school, leadership opportunities, and community service. TSA was established in 1978 by a group of industrial arts teachers in order to provide an organization for students enrolled in technology classes while giving them opportunities to further their skills and education through competitions and hands-on activities.
TJ partnered with TSA in early October. Audio Production teacher Mark Mallaney, the sponsor of TJ’s TSA chapter, explained that his decision to affiliate with TSA was due to a situation with another TJ Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO), SkillsUSA. He explained, “They were ending our audio competition, and since we have to be affiliated with a CTSO, I really wanted to be affiliated with one that has competitions for my students so that they can show off their skills.” While TSA is a different student organization, members of TSA and members of SkillsUSA work concurrently to ensure that both CTSOs are as connected as can be. Many members of TSA are also members of SkillsUSA and hold important positions within both.
Like any CTSO, TSA has competitions for their members to show off the skills they have acquired within their respective Career and Technical courses. TSA competitions mirror that of SkillsUSA, as they have regional, state and nation-wide competitions. TSA state competitions happen in mid-February. Students that place in the top three positions of their competitions at State will move on to Nationals, which will happen in late June. State competitions take place at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center by the Denver International Airport. Nationals will take place at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort and Convention Center in the Washington D.C. area. TSA strives to have competitions related to many students’ interests. Available competitions span from Biotechnology design, animatronics, music production, drone flying, and all the way to giant Jenga. The addition of TSA at TJ gives students the opportunity to compete in more competitions than just the CTE classes offered, which allow them to branch out to different activities that they also find interesting.
TSA is run by the student body of each chapter. Mallaney is the advisor for the club, but the club’s decisions are largely made by the officers, and more specifically, president and senior Sonja Calhoun. TSA is currently closed to new members. However, students who find themselves interested in competing in some of TSA’s many competitions can expect to be able to join within the upcoming year. Students that join TSA will be considered members of SkillsUSA, which means that students in TSA will meet at the same time as students in SkillsUSA and that they will be able to compete in both organizations’ competitions if they please.
