On Wednesday, March 8th, TAF held its annual TAF Varsity Luncheon at the Fisher Pavilion of Seattle Center. This time, we took the opportunity to make some drastic changes to our format in hopes of highlighting our students better. The theme, “A Day in the Life,” was representational of student life. From our “cafeteria lunch line,” gourmet bagged lunch provided by The Box on Wheels, programs reminiscent of composition notebooks, and pages designed with a nod to familiar school subjects, guests were engaged from beginning to end.
The luncheon began with TAF alumni Ada Hardy welcoming the “students” to our luncheon and urging guests to take their seats before “class” began.
Students took center stage, literally. This year, to provide a more intimate environment, guests enjoyed student presentations from a stage positioned in the center of the room, with luncheon tables surrounding. They were also offered a chance to gain more insight to student’s creative process through an added question and answer session following each group presentation.
Both projects were clearly impressive. Students Allison, Eve and Chris worked to find a cheaper way to make piezoelectric tiles which convert kinetic energy to electric energy. From their research, they found their version could generate enough energy in a five minute passing period to power a school for the entire day. Jack and Ravi chose built a solar powered skateboard. They were able to make some of their critical components using a 3D printer. Although each group was able to report success, they both made it clear that with more time and resources being mostly financial, they would be able to produce a better product that could potentially become available to the public in the future.
At the end of the program, TAF Co-founder and Executive Director Trish Millines Dziko gave an inside view of what the TAF Academy expansion will look like in fall 2017. She provided an overview of TAF’s plans for the future and how creating STEM regions among neighborhood schools is the best way to impact student success in public education, noting that partnerships with school districts like Federal Way and Tacoma are necessary to implement STEMbyTAF practices state-wide.
Other changes to our luncheon included the addition of donation stations throughout the space and an easier donation URL for quicker transactions.
The money raised during the luncheon will help TAF make TAF@Saghalie the premiere model in public education. Thanks to our sponsors – Costco, Comcast, Microsoft, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Black Philanthropy Partners, Boeing and Amazon – we were able to design an amazing event that highlighted student excellence.
We appreciate all who took time of their day to attend our luncheon and support our students and vision for public education. To learn more about TAF, visit www.techaccess.org. To donate, visit www.paypal.me/STEMbyTAF.
View pictures from the event below:
