Clarence Students Excel at Tech Wars Event
Students from Clarence High School and Clarence Middle School showed their technical skills and creativity as they took part in the recent Tech Wars competition.
The January 8, 2025 event at SUNY Niagara, in its 29th year, drew nearly 1,000 students from approximately 40 schools. The competition covered a wide range of events including bridge design, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) problem solving, and 3D printed carbon dioxide-powered vehicles. High School teacher Zachary Meal was among the key organizers for the event for the Western New York Technology Educators Association.
Joshua Arnold, one of the Middle School advisors, said the event gives students more independence and responsibility than their typical classroom lesson. One benefit of the competition format was in having students compare and contrast their work to other entries.
“It's an amazing resource to think about their own project when they see a bunch of different solutions presented,” Arnold said. “It's an incredibly natural way of working through the design process and thinking through problems.”
About 60 students from the High School and Middle School took part in the event, finding success in a number of competitions.
At the High School level, the team of Nathan Grek, Thomas Bittar, Alex Morgante and Shane Stoll was the top finisher in the Mini Golf Hole Design competition, in which teams designed a miniature golf hole reflecting technology courses at their school. Brian Kazmierczak finished in second place in the 9th and 10th grade division of on-site parametric modeling, while Nathan Grek finished in third place in the 11th and 12th grade division of the event.
For the Middle School group, the team of Preston Truong, William Truong, Declan Gormley, James “Ned” Stanford finished first in the wind turbine event, which challenged teams to design and engineer a wind turbine to harness the most energy. Adeline Beyer finished in third place in the small bridge competition, while Michael Streit finished in third place in the mousetrap car event.
High School teacher Jason Urbanek, one of the High School level advisors, said students’ planning for the day began in October when rules were published, and included time inside and outside of school.
“They got together with their team and made a plan on when they'd work on their project,” Urbanek said. “They really got to work on it.”
Aiding Urbanek in advising the High School students were Zachary Meal, Thomas Maroney and Sean Murray. The middle school group was advised by teachers Joshua Arnold, Bradley Wright, Pamela Urbanek and Daniel Tarnowski.
Building from this experience, students are working towards future competitions. The next Tech Wars event is scheduled for May 20 at SUNY Erie’s City Campus.
More information about the organization can be found at https://wnytea.com/.