Per our mission, Washington MESA provides enrichment and access to students across the state to increase representation of historically under-represented students of color and women in STEM fields.
Over the course of a year, students from current MESA programs participate in fun, hands-on learning activities and mini-projects in pairs or small groups—all gearing up for a day of competition with peers statewide.
Students identify or are presented with a real-world problem or challenge grounded in STEM, and work to provide a viable solution that meets a UN Sustainability Development Goal (SDG). Regional competitions at the MESA College Prep centers in April and May, lead up to the state competition, Washington MESA Day. This annual MESA Day competition brings together top middle and high school MESA teams from across the state to pitch their human centered design solutions to address inequities impacting their communities. The state competition winning middle and high schools then compete at the MESA USA NEDC competition.
Components of the MESA challenge include:
- Design Brief
The design brief should offer a brief, non-technical overview of the entire project. Students must use the provided design brief template. - Prototype Pitch
The Prototype Pitch should convince the audience that the design meets the user’s needs and has value as a product to address an issue of inequity. - Poster
The poster should provide an overview of the project, highlight key points of the design process, discuss relevant testing and data collection, present the resulting prototype and share recommendations for further development. - Technical Presentation/Interview
Students deliver a short presentation to overview the prototype functionality, including a technical explanation of the mechanical operations, software operations, and integration of the two.
This past year Washington MESA Day was held on May 18th, 2024, at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
Washington MESA Day students and staff (Photo: Merissa Humes)
The winning teams from Washington MESA Day were:
Middle School
1st Place: Westwood Middle School, Spokane with project design on a “Wildfire alert system for low-income and rural populations”.
Students: Isla Funke and Kiera Lanier
2nd Place: Hazel Wolk Middle School, Seattle with a project on, “Feeding the Future: Fighting poor access to nutrition via Low-cost Algae Farming”.
Students: Anish Naraynan, Fenton Lewis, Elijah Edwards
3rd Place: Wy’East Middle School, Vancouver with a project on “Portes Ouverte”
Students: Eva Champie, Lanej Labrok, Sabrina Carmichael
High School Competition
1st Place: Chiawana High School, Pasco with project design was on “WildEye: A non-Lethal Coyote Deterrent Device”.
Student team: Soleil Olivera, Bradley Caulfield, and Ryan Abastillas
2nd Place: Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane, project on, “The Clean Machine: Making Hygiene Accessible”
Student team: Annabel Hilton, Amelie Paul, Dion Black, Emmanuel Castillo
3rd Place: Wapato High School, Toppenish, project on “Pesticide Detection System: Helping Agriculture workers ensure that working in hazardous conditions should not be the price farmworkers have to pay to feed their families”
Students: Karen Trejo, Haily Trejo, Rogelio Silva
Photo Gallery
Photos by Merissa Humes Photography. For use of photos outside of WA MESA, UW, or OMA&D use, please contact Merissa Humes for permission.
