Martin L. Nesbitt Jr. Discovery Academy has had a chapter of TSA since 2014 when they opened their doors to Buncombe County Students.
The Technology Student Association (TSA) is an internal nonprofit organization meant to inspire students k-12. This organization is composed of around 250,000 students in 2,000 schools throughout 49 states. Students participate in various categories meant to challenge them and encourage innovation.
TSA is a STEM based organization that lets its members participate in annual projects. There are projects in categories from Book Making and Fashion Design to Robotics and Dragster Design. There is a competition for anyone! Every year each category has a new design challenge that members build projects based on. Students may work in teams, and in some competition categories they may work alone.
Every year there are two main opportunities to compete against other students. The first competition is in the spring and is our regional conference. Students from Western North Carolina spend a day either competing in competitions like robotics, or they submit their projects for judging. This is a great opportunity for students to prepare for their second competition which is our state conference as well as have the opportunity to win trophies! State conference is a three day long, overnight even that occurs in Greensboro, NC. Students stay in a hotel as well as compete within the hotel's conference rooms.