A total of nine students from Bennett’s Mill Middle and Sandy Creek High schools will compete against the nation’s top technology students in the 2018 National Technology Student Association Conference this summer in Atlanta.

The students earned their spots in the national conference by taking top awards at the Georgia TSA Conference and through the Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science. 

Bennett’s Mill Middle School student Joshua White placed fifth in Technical Design at the Georgia TSA Conference and will advance to nationals to compete in the same event. He also placed third in Vex IQ Team. 

Joining Joshua to represent Bennett’s Mill Middle and Fayette County at the National TSA Conference will be Justus Fields, Donovan Arnold and Rumon Karim who took second place in the state on the TEAMS. The students had to write an essay, take a multiple choice test, and complete a design challenge based on the theme, “Engineering a Greener World.”

A number of students from Sandy Creek High placed at the Georgia TSA Conference, and five of them will be going to the national conference to represent their school and Fayette County. The team of Shon Hoberg, Andrew Russell, Nicholas Jennings, Lemuel Aremu, and Rose Catherine Livinus took eighth place in the On Demand Video event, advancing them to nationals. 

Additional Sandy Creek High students who also placed at the state level were Fanny Cheng, sixth place, Promotional Design; Noah Bridgeman, Ngozi Awachie, and Emma Bryan, 10th place, Technology Bowl; and Noah Bridgeman, Alex Mai, and Brandon Worrell, 10th place, Video Game Design.

The TSA conferences consists of leadership development and over 75 competitive events for middle and high school students that provide them opportunities beyond the traditional classroom/laboratory setting. Students win trophies, finalist pins and receive critical feedback for future competitions. 

Engineering teachers Susan Hall, Bennett’s Mill Middle, and Rob Bell, Sandy Creek High, are the TSA advisors for their schools.

The 2018 TSA National Conference will take place June 22-26 at the World Congress Center in Atlanta.