The Technology Students Association competed at the state level competition to earn a spot at nationals and represent Pebble Hills High School in Fort Worth, Texas on April 13-17.  

The team departed at midnight on Friday, April 13 on a Socorro Independent School District charter bus and traveled with other district qualifiers. For the first time in years, the competition had moved from its location in Waco, Texas to Fort Worth, Texas. Following a ten-hour drive, the team stopped at Six Flags Over Texas for some team building activities.

After spending the day at the park, the students checked in at the Courtyard by Marriott in the downtown district of Fort Worth. The competition took place a few blocks east at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Engineering teacher Mrs. Jacqueline Villalba and Computer Programming teacher Mr. Mark Franco sponsor the TSA chapter. Both sponsors like to emphasize on student leadership and promote the self-motivation and independence in projects and events.

“Going back a second time was exciting,” Villalba said. “The fact that it had changed locations from the previous year made the prospect of better opportunities and new activities all the greater.”

The TSA competition includes a numerous amount of competitions from 3D Animation to Webmaster. Conquering the competitive nature of the events, the Pebble Hills chapter had 15 qualifiers. Many of these students were cross-entered in several events. Spartans competed on Friday and Saturday and 11 placed in the events of Webmaster, Catapult, Video Game Design, Prepared Presentation, Biomedical Design, Digital Video Production, and Chapter Team.

For many students, this was their first visit to the state competition. Many seniors, including Ernesto Cantu, joined TSA this year. Although he had previous experience in the Speech and Debate field, he competed for the first time in the event of Debating Technological Issues with his partner Abigail Segrado.

“It was a great experience overall,” Ernesto Cantu said. “I wish I would’ve had the opportunity to participate in it for another year.”

Although a majority of the students were first-year competitors, some students returned to the state level for a second time. Chapter President Ian Ryback had returned and competed in the Chapter Team, Webmasters, Digital Video Production, Written Exam and Catapult Events. Ryback, along with fellow teammates, was excited to return and prove himself once more.

“It was undoubtedly the best school trip I have ever been on,” stated Ian Ryback, a returning competitor for TSA State. “State was a great opportunity for the group to grow in the bonds we have with each other, our experience with TSA and it’s competitions, and in our knowledge of the ways and extremely competitive nature of all of the events”.

Ryback was also the recipient of the Texan Award. He achieved this by passing the Lone Star and Texan Exam. Ryback was honored at the third General Session of the event.

The team had one national qualifying team in Webmaster by Ian Ryback, Jessica Hernandez, and Brittney Rodelas and finalized for a Unique to Texas event in Catapult by Ian Ryback, Yaritza Corona, Evelyn Lopez, and Samantha Debe. The Pebble Hills TSA chapter intends to continue to compete for years to come and hopes to see their chapter continue to grow.