In February, Tunstall High BETA competed at the state level in Hampton, Virginia. At this convention, students won a total of 23 awards. Some awards won were the Premier Performer Golden Ticket, first place performing arts solo vocalist, first place marketing, first place technology, and one participant received the Noah Freeman Scholarship.
Tara Mills, teacher and Beta sponsor for Tunstall High School, has been taking Tunstall students to these competitions since 2018. She stated that she enjoys helping with conventions for the memories, adventures, and wins. “Once you leave high school, very few people get to do things like this.”
BETA advisors and students seem confident in their ability to succeed at states after participating in national competitions and have found more ways to excel and get creative. Tunstall’s BETA Club has won at least 20 awards every year since 2022. Competing against some of the top schools in Virginia would be intimidating to many, but Mrs. Mills only stated, “It feels good when we win.”
Juniors Carey Dallas and Robbie Rossman were two of the participants of the Beta convention that placed in compet
itions. Dallas won first place performing arts solo vocalist, first place technology, first place Language Arts 11th grade academic test, first place Marketing, and Premier Performer Golden Ticket. Dallas stated that being a part of BETA competition has helped her grow closer to people and step out of her comfort zone. “My favorite part was always being with people. I’ve been going for the last two years, it feels like home in a way,” Dallas said.
Rossman finished 2nd in the 11th grade science test and was a part of the 1st place Technology team. Rossman felt that his teammates were “all very special, respectful, and incredibly intelligent” and credited senior Noah Williams with a large part of the team’s victory.
Williams participated and was very successful at state convention. Williams placed 3rd in 12th grade science test, 1st in a team Technology event, and received the Noah Freeman Scholarship. “I was so happy to hear my name being called from the stage. I couldn’t believe it was actually me,” Williams remarked.
Senior, Tesla Vergas, was also very successful at the convention and finished 2nd in Psychology 12th grade testing. Vargas also partnered with Carey Dallas and Sael Manzano and finished 1st in marketing. Her team’s 1st place win in marketing “felt amazing. We knew we were going to get top three, but we never thought we would get first place,” Vargas said.
Making the decision to compete for any club can be difficult for high school students, but BETA advisors have recognized and adapted to this issue. Mrs. Mills believes some students struggle to step out of their comfort zone, but the students that do end up participating often love it. Mrs. Mills stated, “We often find 10 kids that like and stick to convention,” which works for the club, considering their many wins.
Tunstall Beta individual wins:
Noah Freeman Scholarship went to Noah Williams
Premier Performer Golden Ticket Carey Dallas
1st Biomedical Academic Test Rylan Allen
2nd Black and White Photo Melissa Betancourt Molina
2nd Hand drawn anime Riley Parsons
1st Language Arts 11th grade academic test Carey Dallas
2nd 10th grade Math test Brodie Buchanan
1st on-site drawing division 1 Lyna Kong
1st on-site painting division 2 Riley Parsons
1st 10th grade psychology test Jonathan Coffey
1st 10th grade US History test Edward Walker
2nd Psychology 12th grade test Tesla Vargas
2nd 11th grade science test Robbie Rossman
3rd 12th grade science test Noah Williams
2nd 10th grade social studies test Katelyn Louhoff
2nd Spelling 9th grade Corbin Echols
2nd Woodworking Isabella Wilkerson
Tunstall Beta Club awards:
1st Club Trading Pin
1st Digital Portfolio
1st Marketing (Carey Dallas, Tesla Vargas, Sael Manzano)
1st performing arts solo vocalist Carey Dallas
1st Technology (Clara Mills, Carey Dallas, Rylan Allen, Brodie Buchanan, Noah Williams, Robbie Rossman)
1st Two Dimensional Design Riley Parsons and Madisyn Karnes
3rd Three Dimensional Design
