National Qualifiers are seniors Stephanie Guck, Justin Melendez, Diana Hernandez, Maria Quintero, Vanessa Monsivias, and Kyra Turner; juniors Ejehi Ihionkhan, Payton Schaap, Samantha Taylor, Natalie Serrato, Kathryn Roper, Brady Miller, Maggie Shen, Ben Taylor, and Nitin Rangu; and sophomores Carly Snyder, Hyndavi Jatavallabhula, and Fatima Akilo.
In addition, two LHS students were part of the State TSA Officer Team for the past year, and were instrumental in leading the general sessions at the state conference. They are Payton Schaap, outgoing TSA State Vice-President and Brady Miller, outgoing State TSA Treasurer.
Two students campaigned for a state TSA officer position: Ejehi Ihionkhan for TSA State President and Carly Snyder for TSA State Reporter, with Ejehi winning election to state office.
The LHS organization is run under the guidance of longtime Career Technology instructor Mr. Charles Mosley, who said he was thrilled with the results and looks forward to the national meet set for June in Atlanta.
'We're relieved to be past the hurdle of State competition, but now we're gearing up for Nationals,' he added. 'It's going to be exciting.'
Longview dominated in both team and individual events, with numerous top 10 finishes in a variety of events.
Gold medalists in team events include:
1st Place in Chapter Team (Parliamentary Procedure Team): Ejehi Ihionkhan, Carly Snyder, Maggie Shen, Hyndavi Jatavallabhula, Brady Miller, and Payton Schaap
1st Place in Children's Stories: Kyra Turner, Justin Melendez, Vanessa Monsivias, Maria Quintero, and Diana Hernandez
2nd Place in Biotechnology Design: Samantha Taylor, Kathryn Roper, Payton Schaap, Ben Taylor, Nitin Rangu, and Natalie Serrato
2nd Place in Debating Technological Issues: Justin Melendez and Hyndavi Jatavalabhula
Gold medalists in individual events include Stephanie Guck, who earned top honors in Extemporaneous Presentation, and Fatima Akilo, who took 1st Place in Essays on Technology.
These students will all go on to compete at the TSA National Contest from June 22-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Other event finalists include:
1st Place in Graphic Solutions: Kyle Ashley
1st Place in Engineering Design (CAD Drawings): Arnulfo Campos
1st Place in Manufacturing (Turning Projects/Lathe): Matthew Reed (Acrylic Pen)
2nd Place in Technical Report: Morgan Roberts
3rd Place in Graphic Solutions: Kyra Turner
3rd Place in Graphic Solutions: Caroline Taylor
3rd Place in Single Photo Entries: Katherine Burlingame
3rd Place in Manufacturing (Turning Projects/Lathe): Samantha Taylor (Wood Pen/Pencil Set)
4th Place in Graphic Solutions: Gaurav Singh
4th Place in Promotional Design: Nicole Melendez
4th Place in Manufacturing (Turning Projects/Lathe): Jane Melendez (Wood Pen)
5th Place in Desktop Publishing: Kyle Ashley
5th Place in Prepared Presentation: Payton Schaap
6th Place in Graphic Solutions: Noah Dean
6th Place in Graphic Solutions: Kysean Dixon
6th Place in Computer Skills (on-site): Daniela Gomez
7th Place in Graphic Solutions: Maria Quintero
8th Place in Graphic Solutions: Magdelena Shen
9th Place in STEM Careers: Fatima Akilo
9th Place in Graphic Solutions: Jason Weinstein
9th Place in Graphic Solutions: Vanessa Monsivais
9th Place in Debating Technological Issues: Stephanie Guck and Payton Schaap
9th Place in Scientific Visualization: Samantha Taylor, Natalie Serrato, Kathryn Roper, and Amanda Dominguez
10th Place in Technology Bowl: Fatima Akilo, Maggie Shen, and Morgan Roberts
10th Place in System Control Technology: David Guo, Kysean Dixon, and Noah Dean
10th Place in Engineering Design: David Guo, Kysean Dixon, Vic Dong, Manuel Rodriguez, and Andy Pham
10th Place in Webmaster: Vic Dong, Matthew Hanson, Matthew Reed, Andy Pham, and Amanda Dominguez
The Technology Student Association fosters personal growth, leadership, and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox described TSA as 'one of the most important academic technology programs in our district,' praising TSA instructor Charles Mosley, as well as 'the many parents who volunteer so much of their time and energy to making this program such a success.'
Wilcox said the overall performance of the entire team was impressive, both from the upperclassmen to the younger students.
'Our seniors doing well is no surprise, they are experienced, hard-working, and have been excelling in this competition for some time. It's also great to see so many juniors, sophomores, and freshmen stepping up and excelling,' he said. 'Considering how many middle school students we have excelling as well, it's safe to say that the future is bright for TSA achievement at Longview ISD.'