Photos of students hard at work on their projects, provided by Booker High School

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County recently made a grant to Booker High School to support their Engineering Technology Program earlier this month. “They’re doing some really cool things over there,” says Murray Devine, Manager of Communications & Marketing for CFSC. “And this grant will go towards allowing 40 of their students to fly to compete in the Technology Student Association Nationals Conference against teams from across the country.” 

Booker High School students are now actively working on projects related to the 2019 Florida Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference & Competition, which will be held in Orlando, February 27-March 3. “TSA provides students the opportunity to use the engineering design process to solve simulated real world problems,” says Martha Jane Flynn, College & Career Specialist for Booker High School. "Our students will have the opportunity to complete with 1,500 of their peers in over 30 different STEM and Leadership related competitions." Students are excitedly working on Structural Engineering, VEX Robotics, Animatronics, Architectural Engineering and CNC Machining, just to name a few of the events to compete in. And the high school will also be hosting its own VEX Robotics event on December 8 at Booker. “In addition to TSA and VEX Robotics, students are working extensively with drones and studying the safe operation of an unmanned aircraft with the expectation that it will pass industry certifications,” Flynn notes.

Booker High school's Digital Design and Applied Engineering Technology courses establish profoundly bright futures for the students interested in pursuing careers in a STEM-related field. Currently, Booker’s engineering program has a total enrollment of 120+ students and approximately 40 students directly involved with the TSA competition. Good luck to all the skillful competitors!

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to partner with SRQ Media Group to highlight stories about community impact powered by philanthropy in our region, thanks to the support of donors and our local nonprofit partners. The Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community.

Photos of students hard at work on their projects, provided by Booker High School

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County