Technology Student Association (TSA) is a program where students work on academic projects and submit them to contests. It has a very competitive student body and is a big honor to place high in contests.

The students’ work  requires critical thinking and takes them out of their comfort zone. Junior Bridget Nye, a student at Edmond Memorial High School (EMHS) recently won the Blackwell TSA contest held at Blackwell Middle School with her children’s book that incorporates engineering with playground equipment.

“I decided to create a story based on a balance beam and had my characters go to the park and play on it,” Nye said.

Writing a story about engineering has its troubles though. With limited knowledge on engineering and children’s learning, Nye was forced out of her comfort zone and had to think outside the box to create her story.

Winning this contest was a big deal because she is one of the only TSA members at EMHS, while her competitors were a part of a much bigger club within their school. In fact, EMHS did not have a TSA club at all until this year. Previously, Nye would have had to go to Sante Fe High School for TSA instead.

 Her ability to think outside of the box and play to the rules had a huge role in her story.

“It’s not so much about the content of the story, it’s if she can follow all of the steps that are required,” Her mother Megan Nye, said.

The TSA program not only provides students the skills to thrive in school, but also in adulthood. It gives them extremely good opportunities for college essays and applications.

“TSA provides leadership and competition opportunities for students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics),” Memorial’s TSA advisor Micheal Pougue said.

Nye has now qualified for the state TSA contest and will work on that project next in high hopes of placing well in this contest as well. In the meantime though, she will continue to build her portfolio and be a part of this unique program.

For more information contact Ian Humphreys at [email protected]