TSA State Trip

Article written by: Gabriel Rodriguez

Part 1 

On April 3, 2024, I left for my state competition for my club, Technology Students Association. I had to get up at 3:00 a.m., which I did not want to wake up that early, to get ready and dressed for the bus ride to Fort Worth. I placed my suitcase inside the bus’s storage compartment and brought my backpack, filled to the brim with snacks, onto the bus with me. I decided to sleep for the beginning of the trip to get some of my energy back.  

Around nine in the morning, we arrived at our first stop. It was a Loves-McDonalds gas station. I had the choice of Loves gas station food, a Subway sandwich, or a McDonalds meal. I chose to buy a McGriddle in McDonalds. After around 30 minutes, we got back on the bus and went to Fort Worth. We took two more stops until we arrived at our destination.  

We were staying in the Sheraton hotel, and it was beautiful! I have almost never stayed in fancy, or at least good hotels so this was a pleasant stay. We were given our keycards and were told to go to our assigned rooms. I was staying in a room with this boy named Franz--he was not mean but was not very sociable. I am a social person, but I could tell he did not want to socialize, so I left him alone.  

At about seven in the evening, we were told to go down to the lobby because we were ordering pizza for dinner. I went down, making sure I had the keycard with me, and went downstairs. I went with a group of friends, Julian, and Diego, and we got a box of pizza to share with each other. We each got at least two slices of pizza and a few sodas and water. The day was over, so I went to my room to take a shower. It was so good to take a warm shower after staying in a cold bus for over ten hours.  

We were told to meet outside of our rooms at six-thirty in the morning the next day, so I set my alarm for six tomorrow. The next day, I put on my TSA uniform because I had a competition that day. We were given $21 to spend on the day’s meals. We walked to a restaurant called “Corner Bakery” and I purchased Apple Walnut Pancakes. It was expensive, but my mom gave me extra money to buy more pricy items. I got the pancakes along with some lemonade and went to a table. I ate my breakfast with gusto and checked the time after.  

We left the restaurant after we all ate and went to the Fort-Worth Convention Center. The Convention Center was where the TSA competitions were taking place, and it was filled to the brim with people, computers, and projects! My teammate, Frances, and I waited patiently for the time of our competition. We had to take a test at 11:00 a.m. about Forensic Vocabulary. Once it was eleven in the morning, we made it to the testing area. The administrators of the testing area led us to our seats.  

We had to sit away from each other to prevent answer copying. It was a fifty-question exam on Forensics, and if we placed high enough, then we would qualify for the official semi-finals. After over 20-30 minutes, we finished. It was an easy test, so we waited until the rest of our group completed their competitions. At the end of the day, we went back to the hotel and ate dinner.  

Part 2 

We found out that we qualified for the semi-finals the next day! When we woke up, I pulled on my uniform, met our group outside, and walked back to the “Corner Bakery.” This time, I just got a chocolate croissant and a caramel cappuccino. I needed the energy for the event that day because I felt tired.  

Once we arrived at the Convention Center, we rushed to our event location because it was only five minutes until our event started. We were told by the directors of Forensic Technology that we needed to dump all our knowledge about Forensic entomology. We gave all of what we learned about that topic and wrapped the presentation up. They took notes, asked us a few questions, and ushered us out of the room. We did not know what to do, so we went to the stadium and joined our friends in the bleachers. We played blackjack, without betting anything, for a few minutes, then we just used our phones for a bit until everyone else in our group finished their events.  

Once we left the building, we went at go eat at the “Cheesecake Factory.” It was an expensive restaurant, but the directors of our group paid for the desserts. We ate our food and went back to the hotel.  

We got up the next day and got to the convention center early because the awards ceremony was on that day. My event was called in the third set of awards, but we were not called up as the top 5 qualifiers for nationals. I was sad but experienced with not making nationals, so I was used to the feeling.  

After the ceremony, we left on the bus to a huge mall! When we arrived, we were told to meet in the food court at 7:30 p.m. because we had to get to the hotel early. I went with my friend group and bought some food. After we ate, we decided to go to look at items in some of the shops, but then one of the girls in the group wanted to go to Build-a-Bear Workshop, so we walked to the 3rd floor of the mall. We spent a lot of time in that shop, so in the meantime, we messed around, and looked over the floor railing at the ice-skating rink that we would go to later.  

After we got the stuffed toy, we walked down to the 1st floor and registered for 20 minutes in the ice-skating rink. I tied my ice skates, and I felt very off balance. I positioned my feet so I could walk and went to the rink. Once I stepped foot onto the ice, I could already feel that this would be harder than I thought. I held onto the rails as I tried to propel myself through the ice. I looked back at one of my friends, Diego, and I could see him slipping and falling. He was fine, but I could not help but laugh slightly and ask him if he was okay. After a few minutes of training, I could feel myself getting the hang of propelling myself, but not good at keeping balance. I fell at least two times, but after that, I could slowly skate through the ice. It was fun that day even though I did not qualify for nationals.  

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as we had to go back to the hotel and sleep early. The next day was when we had to go back to RSA. We got onto the bus, and we left. We made three stops. First at a Buc-ees for breakfast, then another Buc-ees for a snack, and finally a Loves gas station for lunch. When we got back to RSA, I looked back at my experience in Fort-Worth. The achievements I made, the friends I created, and the things I learned. Overall, my trip was fun, and I cannot wait to go back to Fort-Worth.