More than 50 middle and high school students from 10 schools represented Kentucky during the 2019 Technology Student Association (TSA) National Conference in National Harbor, Md., with several of them bringing home awards. The list of winners can be found on the Kentucky TSA website.

TSA is a national career and technical student organization that supports students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and is the only career and technical student organization aligned to the engineering, information technology and computer science career pathways in Kentucky. Students learn through competitive events, leadership opportunities, community service and other activities.

Students had opportunities to attend leadership and employability workshops during the conference, as well as network with colleges and fellow students. More than 8,500 students competed in more than 70 STEM-related competitions.

“As Kentucky is graduating more postsecondary STEM students than ever before, it is programs like TSA that expose our middle and high school students to STEM careers,” said Kentucky TSA State Adviser Mark Harrell. “And while winning awards is great, the networking and leadership opportunities TSA offers are equally as important to help create the future STEM workforce in Kentucky. Students are learning what it takes to succeed in the career world and are exposed to employability skills needed in the workforce.”

In addition to the student awards, Zach Thomas, a teacher at Lyon County High School, was named Kentucky High School Chapter Adviser of the Year and James Pennington, a teacher at Raceland-Worthington High School (Raceland-Worthington Independent), was named Kentucky Middle School Chapter Adviser of the Year.

“Congratulations to Mark Harrell and all of our chapter advisers for making KYTSA the fastest growing student organization in Kentucky,” said David Horseman, associate commissioner for the Office of Career and Technical Education and Student Transition.

TSA’s membership includes more than 250,000 middle and high school students in approximately 2,000 schools across 48 states. It is open to students enrolled in or who have completed STEM courses in middle or high school.

For more information, visit the Kentucky TSA website.