TSA dominates at State

Calvin Ru, Asst. Photo Editor

Diamond Bar High School’s Technology Student Association swept their competition as members claimed multiple awards and won the Sweepstakes Chapter Award at the California TSA State Conference in Bakersfield, on March 19 and 20.

Accompanied by two alumnae, class of 2015 graduate Nicole Chen, and former chemistry teacher Carly Gordon, 77 students competed and placed first in various events.

“ Honestly, I felt like our group did a great job. I’m proud of the strong senior class and the new underclassmen that came in and did an impressive job in their events,” senior Alex Xie said.

In addition to the plethora of awards, four DBHS TSA students campaigned for and won positions on the California TSA board: sophomores Valerie Tsao and Ashvini Bhupatiraju as Reporter and Secretary, respectively, and juniors Leslie Sim and Bernard Chen as Vice President and President, respectively.

“It really is an honor to be able to lead California TSA into a new year. I look forward to continuing the TSA legacy at the state level and seeing underclassmen and DBHS TSA in general continue to achieve success in the future,” Chen said.

During the competition, students were encouraged to donate and help raise money for the American Cancer Society’s research and education. Each of the 2015 state officers had a box for donations, and the top three receivers, Sim, and seniors Samantha Yang and Brian Ho, were pied in the face, along with Chen, the new succeeding TSA state president.

DBHS’ TSA chapter prepared for the state competition by organizing preliminary rounds to decide who qualified for events. Some were moved around in order to cover more events.

The TSA National Conference will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center from June 28 to July 2.