By Ethan Barriga.
On November 6, students competed in the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) area
conference at First Baptist Church. With Abilene High School being the largest chapter to
compete in the conference, 20 students advanced to the state competition.
Students and staff prepared for months for this conference. Students participated in several
projects; which could earn them the opportunity to advance to the state competition in Galveston.
Teacher leader Shea Roberson worked with other teachers and students to set up the
conference. Since the conference was local, many administrators from the district office helped
to make the conference a success.
“I was fearful about having so many upper administrators participate,” Roberson said. “It was
so special to hear how impressed they were with our students. Several of them truly enjoyed
judging and asked to do it again next year.”
Although some students did not advance to the state competition, the conference served as
practice for future career skills.
“TAFE teaches lots of great skills that students need to possess to be productive citizens in the
community,” Roberson said. “They learn how to present themselves and dress professionally,
they learn how to present and talk in front of people, they learn work ethic and reading and
following directions through a rubric.”
Senior and area officer Alexa Lubanga felt that the conference was executed smoothly with
help from the area officers.
“I feel the conference ran smoothly and all the preparation done, especially by Mrs. Roberson
and Mrs. Stephens really paid off with how well the conference went,“ Lubanga said. “This
conference felt bittersweet. I did well in my competitions but it was my last Area 7 TAFE
conference.”
TAFE gave Lubanga an opportunity to view new collegiate opportunities, supporting her
aspiration to be a high school science teacher.
“I talked with my friend that introduced me to TAFE about how happy I was with how the
conference went and she was proud of me and how much TAFE has become to me,” Lubanga
said. “I am so grateful for TAFE, I never knew how one sentence could change my future.
Junior Rose Liu competed and advanced to the state competition twice. Her competition was
Exploring Non-Core Teaching Careers, which is a competition that specializes in shadowing a
teacher who teaches elective subjects. She also learned about special education and Gifted and
Talented children for her “Differentiated Lesson” project.
“My projects wanted me to perform research on different types of children and teachers,” Liu
said. “It helped me see education in a different light, and it helped me realize the planning
teachers go through.”
To perform well at the area conference, students not only need to practice and complete their
projects, but they also need to learn how to manage their stress levels.
“You never know what the judges are going to ask you, and that stress can build up before your
competition,” Liu said. “Although the competition setting is nerve-wracking, the feeling goes
away once you learn that your hard work paid off after getting a good result.”
