Stroudsburg sophomores perform well at this summer’s TSA competition

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From left to right: sophomores at Nationals this summer.

Dan Sorrenti, Staff Writer

Stroudsburg sophomores, once again, went against some of most highly competitive states in the nation during this summer’s Technology Student Association (TSA) finals.

Andrew Wilson, Ethan Ruschman, Niv VanVliet, Patrick Barry, and Kyle Flemming are just a few of the names who competedAi??in Nationals this year.Ai??Wilson, Ruschman, and VanVliet placed 4th in Video Game Design, 5th in theAi??Written Technology Bowl, and 6th in the Oral Technology Bowl. Wilson and Flemming finished 10th in Structural Engineering, and Barry and Flemming finished12th in the Junior Solar Sprint.

“Students are able to pick from 40-60 event topics,” said TSA Organizer Mr. Michael Qendro. “All of the events that could’ve been competed for are team events. Cooperation and hard work are some of the most defined traits for those that wish to succeed.”

“TSA helps me become a more creative person,” said senior Jay Kmetz. “I can look at the world at a more technical perspective. The best part of it all was that we became closer, we all were bonding, friendships were made.”

Former TSA member John Valinote, a senior, agrees. “It was worth the time. You had a sense of freedom, you went from a school environment into a college environment.”

Qendro is enthusiastic for the future of TSA members, and believes TSA boosts a student’s chances of being successful in their field.

“In 2015, at least 4-5 students went directly into a technology related field following their TSA career,” Qendro said.

QendroAi??is also working on getting more students involved in the program.

“I am currently trying to expand TSA into the middle school, along with Mr. George starting the robotics club. It needs expansion to prepare, to get the learning curve.”