In February, Harriton TSA finished their regional conference impressively, with high placements all around including four firsts. Notably, for the first time since the inception of the event six years ago, Chapter Team was not won by Lower Merion. Instead, the title went to Harriton, thus earning us the right to host the 2017 regional conference and making the Harriton TSA leadership the regional officers.

This success is the result of a long journey.

In the past few years, although Harriton had been home to the national TSA president as well as several state officers, the team itself lacked a unifying presence and strong work ethic. Unlike Science Olympiad, which feels like one community, TSA was more like as a group of individuals looking to fulfill their own desires. Since unity is necessary to push a team from decent to excellent, Harriton was able to squeak by at regionals and states but could not maintain enough passion to do well at nationals.   

Two years ago, at the national conference in Washington, D.C., Harriton TSA placed in only a single national event. The school won a 5th place in Chapter Team Written.     

Last year, TSA experienced a change. Unlike the previous year, where pre-nationals work was largely individualized, the team went through each TSA event together, discussing current status and where they could possibly stand by nationals in July. Rather than spreading their work thin through a large quantity of events, members concentrated specifically on the events at which they were strongest.

The difference in the team’s performance was staggering. Two years ago in D.C., Harriton received one national top-ten finish. Last year in Dallas, Texas, Harriton received seven. This included a national championship in Chapter Team Written (the same event in which Lower Merion swept first, second, and third in the year prior) and a national runner-up in Structural Engineering.

Energized from nationals and excited about a new rising class of students, the 2015-16 TSA season began with a marked difference in attitude. Gone were the Magic: The Gathering cards that once littered the tables, replaced by a constant working buzz.

This regional conference marked the continuation of a new era of Harriton TSA that started at last year’s national conference. They have already earned the title of regional officers, but there is more work to be done. The team hopes to win first at states (April 13-16 in Champion, Pennsylvania) and top three at nationals (June 28-July 2 in Nashville, Tennessee).

If they continue on their current path, who knows what they are capable of.