News Post

On Tuesday, March 11, four students traveled to the HSPA Design & Build challenge; one Visitation student was on each of the two winning groups coming out of the event - the only school with a winner on both teams.

Each school attendee, including Gonzaga, DeMatha, Bishop McNamara, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Mary's Ryken, and St. Vincent Pallotti, brought four students, who were then split up into seven teams to tackle two challenges dealing with the aftermath of a climate disaster: building a cellphone tower to withstand the winds of a hurricane and an earthquake and building a vehicle to deliver supplies over a rocky surface.

STEM & Innovation Coordinator Antoinette Angotti, who accompanied the girls, said, "The impact of climate change and disasters are felt every day.  They got a realistic opportunity to think about all the immediate issues that victims face and how their skills could make a difference."

"My group approached our challenge by brainstorming our own ideas independently, then combining the best aspects of our own designs to create the most efficient emergency transportation aid," Aryana '27 said. "I feel that the most valuable part of this experience was getting to collaborate with other high schoolers to solve our given problem together and understanding their different ideas and strategies through this process."

Angotti shared that the challenge offered an opportunity to work in a co-ed environment. "One thing that is important, as an engineer, is the opportunity to work with men. These women entering the STEM world will be in the minority," she said, noting that as of 2023, 16.7 percent of architects were women according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

"Throughout the competition, I had to collaborate in a co-ed environment, with people I had never met. Visi has played a significant role in boosting my confidence, as both my educators and peers encourage me to speak up and express my ideas. Visi has also equipped me with the resilience to overcome setbacks and to push forward, even when faced with adversities or failures," said Megan '27. "As a woman in STEM, it’s important to ensure that my perspective is valued within a group and I felt comfortable sharing my thoughts in this setting. The competition involved numerous challenges where we had to make tweaks and adjustments real time before we ultimately succeeded in creating something unique and successful."

Both Megan and Aryana's groups were named winners of the competition.

"We were thrilled when our group emerged as the winners of the competition. Our communication tower was the only one able to withstand natural elements like earthquakes and strong winds without fail. We felt a strong sense of pride in our creative and innovative approach that led us to victory," said Megan. 

"It felt really great to be the school whose attendees were on both winning teams. I believe that being a part of BEDA has really prepared us all for the challenges that we were given," said Aryana.