9.2018
School Scene
Fall 2018
Volume 12 | Issue 3
In this Issue:
  • Model the Way with #OneTSA | President Alexander King
  • A Refreshing New Look | Vice President Isabella Eleogo
  • Get Competitive | Secretary Audrey Garoutte
  • Three Goals | Treasurer Emma Hopson
  • Enhance Your LEAP Experience | Reporter Benjamin Abt
  • What a Week | Sergeant-at-Arms Ashley Stokes
Model the Way with #OneTSA
by President Alexander King
The 2018–2019 school year is well underway. As your national TSA president, it is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to another great year in TSA. This will be TSA’s 41 st year of creating and shaping the leaders of tomorrow. We are an organization that is 250,000 members strong. We are the future technologists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, business professionals, and so much more.

Another year of TSA means another year of developing skills; creating lifelong friendships; learning to lead in a technical world; and striving to embody another theme as we countdown the days to the 2019 National TSA Conference: “Model the Way.” Your national officer team is excited to go through this journey with each of you.

We hope you are taking advantage of everything this year has to offer and making it count. As always, remember to stay connected with national TSA on social media using #OneTSA. Here's to another great year with TSA!
A Refreshing New Look
by Vice President Isabella Eleogo
On behalf of the 2018–2019 national officer team, it is with excitement that I say the refreshed TSAweb.org offers so much for our TSA family. Check out the new Toolkits section, which features resources for student members, officers, advisors, and others to help promote TSA. From a Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion Calendar—to 10 Ways to Fundraise—the national TSA website resources are better than ever!

The current national officer team not only wants to improve the organization at the state and national level, but at the chapter level as well. Now, TSAweb.org includes many new or updated resources such as:

For seniors, be sure to check out resources that can assist you with applying to and interviewing for college and employment:

We hope you take advantage of the Toolkits as you share with your peers, the excitement of having a refreshed website. I hope you are as excited as I am to see what else this year has in store.
Get Competitive
by Secretary Audrey Garoutte
Now is the time to get a head start on the TSA competitive events that you will be working on throughout the school year. TSA offers a variety of events in a range of topics. Be sure to pick competitions that interest you, so you do not become disengaged halfway through the year. A great way to see quickly what an event entails, is by going to the High School Competitions or Middle School Competitions on TSAweb.org. These synopses provide a way to review descriptions and see what intrigues you. After your chapter registers, you can find the events that interest you within the event guide—which is included with registration—and see the official guidelines.

Whether you are a new or longtime member, be sure to start working on events early, and set manageable deadlines throughout the school year. Also, look over the Levels and Rules section, located online and at the beginning of the guide. Regularly check Competition Updates to stay on top of any changes.

Most importantly, be sure to challenge yourself and have fun.
Three Goals
by Treasurer Emma Hopson
This year, our national TSA officer team has created a program of work and three goals to benefit members across the nation
  1. Our first goal is to continue working on college initiatives. Each officer has chosen an alumnus who attends or attended a college in the officer’s local area. This alumnus can help connect us with college faculty teaching STEM-related subjects. It is our hope that the information obtained from these conversations, will help increase TSA recognition at colleges across the country.
  2. The team also aims to increase officer communication at the state level. In addition to a state presidents' conference call, we are setting up another meeting during the National TSA Conference to allow all state officers to interact, share ideas and best practices, and celebrate successes. This will allow officers to communicate, build relationships, and network with each other in person.
  3. Our third goal is to increase relationships with business and industry. As part of this goal, we want to increase awareness of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). This organization can assist with providing judges for state conferences, and allowing student access to potential mentors for TSA projects.

Be on the lookout for these initiatives. Let us make this a great year, TSA.
Enhance Your LEAP Experience
by Reporter Benjamin Abt

The purpose of LEAP (Leadership. Education. Achievement. Personal Growth.) is to encourage students to be the best member they can be—as they seek knowledge about themselves, the organization, and their community—while demonstrating leadership. LEAP has been integrated into TSA’s competitive events program, so it is important for members to think about the LEAP requirements as they begin working on their chosen event(s). 

When completing your LEAP Report or LEAP Response, it is important to look for times in and out of the classroom during which you follow “The Five Practices of Becoming an Exemplary Leader,” providing a good baseline when determining what to include in your documentation. By learning and demonstrating these five practices while completing your LEAP Report or LEAP Response, you soon will start to recognize and apply these practices in daily life.

As you recognize opportunities to make use of one of these practices, take advantage of the situation and practice your leadership skills. You will gain more respect from your peers and have a larger impact on your community. Use LEAP to recognize what it takes to be a leader and improve your leadership skills, inspiring those around you.

Be sure to check the competitive event guidelines and TSAweb.org for updated information and changes to the high school LEAP requirements (LEAP Response) for the 2018 – 2019  school y ear.
What a Week
by Sergeant-at-Arms Ashley Stokes
National TSA Week 2018 was a great opportunity for chapters to increase membership and raise awareness of TSA in local communities.

Each day of the week, members were encouraged through TSA’s social media outlets to post about what that day’s theme meant to them. Many members also wore TSA T-shirts or official TSA attire to school and answered questions such as “What is TSA?” and “What do you do in TSA?” It was a great opportunity to tell classmates that TSA focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions, programs, and more, in addition to leadership roles and conferences.

National TSA Week also showed how each member has an individual TSA experience, as thousands around the nation posted photos, videos, and reflections of their TSA involvement at the local, state, and national levels. It was truly an inspiration to me. Search #OneTSA on social media and you will come across statements such as these:

  • “TSA has helped us all become the people we are today. “
  • "Being a member of TSA has shaped me in so many ways and it means the world to me to be a part of such a big organization! TSA has helped everyone in our chapter understand what career they would like to go into because of the wide variety of competitions.”
  • “We strive for perfection in our competitions and in the way we represent ourselves. We like to encourage each other through fun, creative ways, and through constructive criticism. We develop each other to become more than just the average student.”
  • "Being in TSA is important to me because of the many lessons I learn from my TSA experiences. They teach me how to be a leader, and how to overcome challenges that seem complicated."
  • "What a wonderful journey it’s been and we can’t wait for more to come!”
  • “It's National TSA Week!!! For #throwbackthursday, we looked back on our most recent trip to state conference. For many of us, it was our first time attending states and even being part of this amazing organization. We made so many new friends and made so many awesome memories."
  • “We’ve been hard at work all week to make a creative showcase of our club pride and appreciation for this great organization! Thank you TSA, we can’t wait for what you have in store for our members in the future. #onetsa” 
  • “I have learned that TSA is not just an organization. It is a place where you meet new people and take on a lot of responsibilities that prepare you for life, while you still are having tons of fun."
  • "I have learned so much through TSA when it comes to leadership skills and just being myself. By being a TSA member my plans for my future have changed, since I have joined TSA I’ve wanted to have a career in STEM."
  • "TSA has taught me to become a better leader."
  • "TSA is my home away from home!”
School Scene (ISSN 1066-341X) is published three times a year by the Technology Student Association.
Copyright © 2018 TSA