The Technology Student Association (TSA) at Smith Middle School is doing its best to prepare pupils for an ever-changing jobs market.

Students are working on projects to get ready for the TSA regionals, which will be held Saturday, Jan. 24, at Conestoga Valley High School. Students who perform well there will qualify for the state competition with a chance to advance to the national event.

There are 37 categories in the contest, including podcasting, children's stories, robotics, digital photography, forensic technology, and website design.

"I am looking forward to competing and trying something new, and I'm looking forward to hopefully make it to nationals and continuously work well with other people," Smith Middle chapter president Evalina Wagner said.

The organization meets during the school day once a week and occasionally after school. Students can also work on projects at home. "They're supposed to be working on their own, whether it's at home, in school, or after school," adviser Brian Shortes said.

The process begins when the school year starts. Shortes gives students a survey to determine which competitions draw their interest. "New this year is robotics, so we ordered two robotics kits," the teacher said. "I have 18 different competitions this year that students are interested in."

Smith Middle's TSA club has grown exponentially, from nine members last year to 54 in Shortes' second year at the school. "I was doing my own research and looking at ways I can advertise for TSA," he said. "I put posters around, and I asked other teachers to promote it."

"TSA is amazing," club treasurer Arianna Shaffer said. "I have so much fun hanging out with my friends and working together as a team. For the competition, I can't wait to show everybody the project me and my team have been working on these past few weeks, and I can't wait to see everyone else's project that they have also been working on. One I can't wait to see is dragster because they have been working really hard, and so have us all."

Club member Harper Ryan said, "I think it's really enjoyable, and I am looking forward to getting to present my children's story to elementary kids."

Shortes, a Millersville University graduate with a degree in assessment curriculum instruction with a STEM endorsement, teaches engineering to all three grade levels. Sixth-graders focus on structural engineering such as building bridges and towers as well as video game design. Seventh-graders learn environmental engineering, while eighth-graders concentrate on biochemistry.

Shortes wants students to grasp concepts that will help them regardless of what career they ultimately elect to pursue. "I'm hoping that they are able to have interest in technology and are interested in just some of the new things that are out there, and that they're able to use that and apply that into their everyday life," he said. "I know there's going to be a need in the next couple of years. You have AI coming in, you have drones coming up, cybersecurity. We need to have people ready for those jobs that are going to be such a demand. I just want students to be able to have some type of interest or even have awareness of what's going on."

Swift Middle School also has a TSA chapter, which is led by teacher Mary Beth Ferguson.

The Solanco TSA organizations are seeking donations to help with things such as registration fees and the cost of materials. Anyone who wants to contribute can email brian_shortes@solancosd.org or marybeth_ferguson@solancosd.org or call Smith Middle School at 717-786-2244.