Tech-minded teens gear-up for nationals
Three tech-minded Hillsboro High School students are geared-up to compete this weekend at a national competition in Dallas, Texas.
Isaac Leihy, Tyler Lofton, and Brett McIntosh were scheduled to depart yesterday with technology teacher and club sponsor Creigh Bell to participate in the 28th National Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference.
The youths, all sophomores to be, are the first students from Hillsboro to qualify for nationals.
They will compete in four events based on principles learned in their technology classes. Bell also will be a judge at the competition.
McIntosh will compete in two individual events, Flight Endurance, and CO2 Dragster Design, and also will team up with Lofton in the Technology Problem Solving Event. Leihy and Lofton will pair up for the Structural Engineering competition.
The teenage tech-heads qualified for nationals in March by placing at the top of their respective events at the state competition.
According to information posted on its national web site, TSA is a non-profit national student organization devoted to teaching technology education to young people. Its mission is to inspire its student members to prepare for careers in a technology-driven economy and culture.
The Hillsboro youths have put in hundreds of hours to prepare for this event, according to Bell, who also is the sponsor of the TSA program at the school.
Flight Endurance participants demonstrate their knowledge of flight principles with rubber band-powered model aircraft.
Dragster participants demonstrate by producing working drawings, building and racing C02 powered cars down a 60-foot racetrack.
Structural Engineering event participants work in teams of two with supplied materials to build a model bridge that is destructively tested to determine design efficiency.
Technology Problem Solving participants use problem solving skills and limited materials to develop a solution to a problem given on site.
In addition to the honor of competing in such elite company, participants at nationals often are recruited by prestigious colleges and corporations, Bell said.
Leihy is the son of Thomas and Monica Leihy, Lofton is the son of David and Angel Lofton, and McIntosh is the son of Robert and Marlene Herzet.
