04/24/19
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State University’s chapter of the Technology and Engineering Education Collegiate Association won two national championships and a runner up finish in nine competitive events against 14 other universities at the 81st annual International Technology and Engineering Educators Association conference in Kansas City, Mo.

The FHSU chapter had 14 students and five sponsors representing the university.

For the second consecutive year, FHSU’s TEECA won the Live Manufacturing Competition, which required students to design and create a rustic shadow box lamp while developing and managing a complete manufacturing assembly run producing a final product on site.

The team dedicated more than 150 hours of extracurricular activity to their final product. Team members are Danea Buschkoetter, team captain and documentation specialist; Eric Prockish, jig engineer; Jerome Hoffman, drafting and design specialist; and Michael Dick, part specialist and inspector.

“I could not be more proud of the way that this team came together, committing the necessary time and energy into this competition in order to produce a successful outcome,” said Eric Deneault, assistant professor of applied technology. Deneault and Randy Jordan, assistant professor of applied technology, are the team sponsors.

FHSU also won the Problem Solving Competition for the second time in three years. The team was tasked with building a parking garage at 1/32 scale. They then had to program and code the garage to have specific requirements, such as autonomous gates that would open and close, a vehicle counter that would count the cars entering and leaving, and a billboard for advertisements.

Team members are Blake Hinson, Vincent Evans, Dalton Enfield, Dalton Kraus, and Zach Peach.

“The effort from this team was unbelievable,” said Deneault. “There was no denying them a first-place finish this year.”

After a runner up finish, the FHSU robotics team will advance to compete at the VEX Worlds competition in Louiville, Ky. Team members are Tage Rothchild, team captain and engineer, programmer and driver; Jordan Sargent, engineer and mechanic; and Micah Nuss, engineer and mechanic.

In addition to the national championships and runner-up finish, one FHSU team member and the FHSU chapter won awards for their outstanding performance and dedication to TEECA and the FHSU Department of Applied Technology.

Buschkoetter was awarded the 2019 ITEEA/Foundation for Technology and Engineering Educators Don Maley Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. Buschkoetter has supported and promoted FHSU TEECA by becoming a student officer, holding positions as treasurer and president. She has participated on the live manufacturing team, where she became a two-time national champion and regional runner-up, and the live communications and problem solving teams, where she earned national runner-up finishes. She has also been the regional photography champion three years in a row.

FHSU’s chapter won the TEECA Outstanding Chapter Award, the most coveted award designated to the most outstanding TEECA organization in the nation. The chapter, founded in 1986, has amassed 233 podium finishes, 26 national titles and 87 regional titles. In addition to this, students within the TEECA organization provide community service events throughout the year.

Students, with hometowns and classifications, are listed below.

ALMA, NEB. (68920): Jesus Felix is a sophomore.

ATWOOD (67730): Dalton Enfield is a sophomore.

GALVA (67443): Vincent Evans is a senior.

GREAT BEND (67530): Blake Hinson is a senior.

HALSTEAD (67056): Dalton Kraus is a sophomore.

HAYS (67601): Michael Dick is a sophomore.

Jerome Hoffman is a senior.

HOLDREGE, NEB. (68949): Danea Buschkoetter is a senior.

LACROSSE (67548): Zach Peach is a freshman.

MANHATTAN (66502): Eric Prockish is a sophomore.

MINNEAPOLIS (67467): Dason Sweat is a sophomore.

RANSOM (67572): Jordan Sargent is a junior.

RUSSELL (67665): Micah Nuss is a freshman.

SUPERIOR, NEB. (68978): Tage Rothchild is a sophomore.