2024 National Conference in Orlando
After a year of hard work on our TSA projects, the time had finally come to present our results in Orlando, USA, and, with a little luck, take home some extremely good rankings. On Sunday morning, our TSA chapter met at 8:00 a.m. at the airport in Leipzig. After a short flight to Frankfurt am Main, we boarded the plane to Orlando. The long-haul flight took just under 11 hours, during which we mainly spent our time watching movies, reading, and chatting. Despite the long journey, our arrival in Orlando at 6:00 p.m. was marked bysignificant tropical heat – 38°C and 80% humidity. At the airport, we picked up our rental car and also used an Uber to take our team and luggage to the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel. After checking in and settling into our rooms, we did some initial shopping at the nearby Publix supermarket before ending the evening with a relaxing swim in the hotel pool.
On Tuesday, we set off for the Everglades to take part in the Wild Willy Airboat Tour. The ride through the swamp on the air cushion boat gave us the opportunity to observe alligators up close and experience the impressive landscape of the Everglades. In the afternoon, we drove on to watch a SpaceX rocket launch. The event was a special highlight of the trip and left a lasting impression on all of us. After this eventful day, we returned to the hotel in the evening.
Wednesday was all about shopping and preparations. We visited the International Premium Outlet Mall in Orlando, followed by a shopping trip to Target. In the afternoon, the first TSA delegation meeting took place, where we received the official TSA backpacks and key chains with access cards. We used the evening to finish our physical model for the competition in the “Architectural Design” category and to print the documentation for other projects.The preparations were intensive, but necessary in order to be well prepared for the coming days.
The TSA Conference began on Thursday with the General Session, which brought together over 9,000 participants from across the United States, as well as international teams from Germany, Turkey, and South Korea. The opening event served as a welcome and to introduce the new national officer candidates. The following days were spent working on our projects and participating in various on-site competitions. The production of the on-demand video, which had to be completed by early Sunday morning, was particularly challenging. On Sunday, the final general session took place with the award ceremony. Our team was able to achieve 9th place in the “Data Science” and ‘TechBowl’ categories and 8th place in the “Coding” category. After the award ceremony, we took the opportunity to spend the day at Coco Beach, where we were able to relax by swimming and jumping in the waves.
On Monday, we took a full-day trip to the Kennedy Space Center. There, we gained interesting insights into space travel and the history of NASA. In the evening, we returned to the hotel and ended the day with our traditional “Root Beer Ceremony” and a final visit to the hotel pool.
The last day began with a visit to Beth's Burger Bar, where we successfully mastered the “Double D Burger Challenge.” In the afternoon, we took an Uber to the airport in Orlando. The night flight took us back to Germany, where we landed in Leipzig the next morning.