When you see the acronym TSA, the first thing you’d think of is airport security and in a way you are correct. The acronym stands for Transportation Security Administration, but it also stands for Technology Student Association, which is a club related to technology, math, and science. The club is catered to students who are interested in technology or anything related to engineering, math, or science. With the events, there are three competition types related to TSA: districts, state, and nationals.

State is the first official competition that goes along with TSA. Despite having districts, state is the first competition that counts. Districts are basically used as an introduction to TSA overall. The Chapter (TSA club) looks over events and chooses what event they would like to do. Once the events are chosen, the members will begin to put together their projects and take the pretests for the events that require them. Upon reaching Districts, there’s an introduction to the overall event, and once all events are finished, there is an awards ceremony. If you win your event, you’ll get a certificate, and every member, regardless of how they did at districts, will advance to state level. State was February 24th - 26th at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, with all high schools with a TSA Chapter in the state competing. This year, ThunderRidge had three members win third or second place and two who qualified for Nationals. These winners include: Gabriel Wardall, Megan Farrington, and Cooper Carlson. Gabe and Megan were a duo who got third place for Structural Engineering, therefore qualifying for Nationals. Cooper got second place in the Rat Trap Car competition, but sadly this event is exclusive to State, not Nationals. State was overall a great experience and everyone involved did a great job no matter the placement of their events.

TSA changed the lives of many students across the state, including the students at Thunder Ridge High School, from the club president to the members who joined recently to get to know the experience. Everyone has a story to tell about their experience within the club and how it changed their life. TSA Treasurer, Gabe Wardall, joined the club due to his “passion for engineering…[and] interest in aerospace.” He also said that he “wanted to join a club with people who were also interested in it.” Jake Fredericks, a member who just joined this year, said he “wasn't sure what [he] wanted to do, so [he] joined so [he] could see the possibilities in STEM careers.” Many other members and officers have similar statements as most, if not all, of the members, joined so they could see the possibilities that the club has to offer. While TSA may be over for this year, we look forward to next year’s chapter.