TSA EVENTS AND TSA LEAP RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY

Peninsula competed in both the Technology Student Association (TSA) Events and Technology Student Association Leap Legacy Chapter (TSA Leap) national competitions in Atlanta, Ga. from June 22 to 26. TSA is a nationwide organization that brings together students between grades six through 12 who have a passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The TSA Events team included juniors Rianne Aguas, Summer Hasama, Evelyn Hasama, Margaret Gao, Joseph Mina and Amanda Wong. In TSA Events, students are required to design and create products that integrate innovation with key components of STEM. The team ranked within the national top ten in the “Children’s Stories” category of the high school division, a first in Peninsula TSA Events history. This category challenges particheipants to create a storybook with narrations and illustrations that would be appealing and educational to children.  Participants had to adhere to the theme which tasked students to create an electronically enhanced project. The team’s storybook was designed with lights and sounds that could be activated by buttons operated by the reader.

Peninsula’s TSA Leap team was selected to represent California and compete at the national level, where they won third place and received a $250 check. Juniors Rianne Aguas, Summer Hasama, Evelyn Hasama and Ryan Alimento formed the first team from Peninsula to participate in the TSA Leap competition, where they were required to showcase their leadership skills through a resume and presentation. They needed to display the following character themes: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart. Through the presentation provided by the team members, the judges were able to see which teams demonstrated excellent leadership abilities and best reflected the themes. Throughout the process, the team learned what hard work, cooperation and dedication could accomplish.