A student team from Lake Washington Technical College (LWTC) finished 11th out of 18 teams at the sixth annual International CanSat Competition held in Amarillo, Texas in June.

It was LWTC’s first appearance at CanSat, which is open to colleges and universities from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Among the schools competing were the universities of Michigan, Nebraska, Hawaii, Penn State and Florida Institute of Technology as well as schools from Canada, Mexico, Turkey and India. LWTC was one of only a pair of two-year schools in Amarillo joining Hawaii’s Kapiolani Community College.

“Our students worked so very hard throughout the entire weekend and deserve a well earned rest and all accolades that came their way,” said Joe Gryniuk, an instructor in LWTC’s Electronics Technology program and the team’s adviser. “We were up against some very well funded teams several of which had sponsors. Our students beat the odds, completed the challenge, and finished the competition.”

Gryniuk accompanied the student team of Gary Piper, Team Lead, and Johnny Goss, Lead Technician, to the competition. LWTC’s Associated Student Government chapter paid for the student’s trip. In all, 12 students representing a cross-section of the campus were involved for almost a year on the project, which was not part of a class, but an extracurricular activity.