by Mia Fatuzzo ’15, News Section Editor
On March 5th, sixteen Country Day students, along with Upper School Chemistry teacher Mrs. Butler, traveled to the University of Cincinnati to compete in an annual engineering competition. The competition, which focuses on a different
real-world problem each year, was entitled this year, “Engineering Tomorrow’s Cities.” Competitors stove to “restore and improve urban infrastructure” by focusing on topics such as the electrical grid, pollution control, and transportation.
The challenge is hosted by the Technology Student Association (TSA), an organization formerly known as the Junior Engineering Technical Society
(JETS), which was devoted to promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among students. Formally known as TEAMS (Tests of
Engineering Aptitude, mathematics, and Science), the competition is an annual, team, engineering-based competition for high-school students.
This year, Country Day fielded two JETS teams of eight students each, and the varsity team placed second in its division. Mrs. Butler is thrilled that so many students have taken an interest in JETS. She believes Jets is so popular for several reasons. First, it provides students with the opportunity to “solve challenging problems that are in a real-world context.” She also points out that students find “intriguing the way the problems cut across disciplines.” JETS, as a team competition, allows students to work collaboratively. Finally, students who are interested in engineering find JETS a helpful way to establish an introduction to engineering. Julian Braxton, who has participated in JETS for two years, notes his appreciation for JETS: I do JETS, a fun day-long event that challenges me to think like an engineer, because it’s really fun to problem-solve.