Nimitz High School Hosts VEX Skyrise Robotics Competition

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Nimitz High School recently hosted a VEX Skyrise Robotics workshop. It was also the first Technology Students Association’s (TSA) competition this school year. Students in TSA are competitive. The event only highlighted how they are already prepping for the upcoming competitions. Students compete to advance to state and national events.

“This was a great event for TSA students,” said David Ericson, robotics instructor at Nimitz High. “Our students got to meet peers from other schools. Some came from as far away as Austin. It gave students the opportunity to see the talent they will be facing in upcoming contests as well as an opportunity to learn the new VEX contest rules for 2014-2015.”

The contest involves building a VEX robot. In VEX Skyrise teams work quickly to score in a variety of ways. They must get their robots to stack cubes on the tournament field. The object of the game is to get a higher score than the opposing team based on the rules and guidelines of the game.

More than 100 students participated in the event. While the Nimitz High robotics team didn’t compete, they were great hosts. The Nimitz students assembled the tournament field and acted as judges to score competitions.

The Nimitz robotics team leader is senior Alcmene González who also serves as the TSA president at the campus. The Nimitz High TSA robotics student team members that attended the event included Antonio Byles, Christian Castro, Rafael Soto, González, Elisa Tyler, Malcolm McGee, Jesús Rangel, Derrick Tchety, Gregory Montelongo, Nicholas Fogarty, and Soloman Akande.

Ericson invites students interested in robotics to take part in TSA.

“This is a great, fun program for students looking to get into engineering or technology,” said Ericson. “They can attend the TSA meetings held after school every Thursday in Room 308.”

Ericson added that the Nimitz High robotics team has many returning student members this school year. He also praised TSA’s strong base of supporters including district officials.

[quote]It is great to have so much support from parents as well as school and district leaders,” said Ericson. “TSA encourages students’ interest in STEM (sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics). And it motivates them to pursue STEM careers. [/quote]

“The robotics competitions showcase the students’ abilities. TSA is a great way for students to apply the concepts they are learning to projects and through hands-on experiences.”