Students and advisers from across the state recently joined more than 8,000 others at the 45th annual National Technology Student Association Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

The First State delegation included 130 individuals from Caesar Rodney High School, Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Fred Fifer III Middle School, Henry B. du Pont Middle School, Indian River High School, Magnolia Middle School, MOT Charter High School, Newark Charter School, Newark High School, Odyssey Charter School, Postlethwait Middle School and Sussex Central High School.

They competed in individual and team events in areas like Architecture, Podcasting, Biotechnology, Board Game Design, Career Prep and Coding.

Local students earning Achievement Awards were:

• Samhitha Vallury of MOT Charter, recognized for service as secretary for its Technology Student Association.
• Samra Iqbal of Caesar Rodney High, recognized for service as reporter for its Technology Student Association.
• Roger Seedorf of MOT Charter, recognized as High School Teacher of the Year.
• Laura Barnas of Postlethwait Middle, recognized as Middle School Teacher of the Year.
• Mike Fitzgerald from the Department of Education, recognized as the National State Advisor of the Year.

Local students named national top 10 finalists were:

• Desen Basara of Caesar Rodney High, first place in Essays on Technology.
• Shiven Reddy and Youg Patel of Newark Charter, third place in Technology Problem Solving.
• Nathan Hryniewicz of Newark Charter, fifth place in CAD Engineering.
• Arnav Angra of Henry B. du Pont Middle, seventh place in Foundations of Information Technology.
• John Barnas, Zachary Barnas and Mason Lenoir of Postlethwait Middle, seventh place in Video Game Design.
• James Carroll and Audrey Houghton of Newark Charter, 10th place in Forensic Science.
• Ethan Ho, Chase Polk and Noah Veron of Newark Charter, 10th place in System Control Technology.

The Technology Student Association is a career and technical education organization dedicated to those interested in the future of technology, invention, innovation, design and engineering.

Through their respective associations, members participate in STEM-focused competitive events, take part in service work and become leaders at the school, state and national level.

To learn more, visit detsa.org or contact Mr. Fitzgerald at 302-735-4015 or mike.fitzgerald@doe.k12.de.us.