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 17th, 2025, at the UW Global Innovation Exchange Center.
Washington MESA Staff, Students, and Teachers (Photo Tara Brown)
The winning teams from Washington MESA Day were:
Middle School:
1st, Overall, Best in Category: Technical Pitch and Academic Poster, YVTC/PNNL , Ochoa MS , Sheyla Salas, Karen Salazar, Marely Sanchez, Analy Laez
2nd, Overall , Best in Category: Design Proposal and Poster Symposium, Seattle, Hazel Wolf K-8, Dylan Griffith, Kade Charboneau, Anish Naraynan
3rd, Overall, Spokane , Sacajawea MS , Amelia Mejia, Ella Dordal, Avery Tsucalas-Vint, Delaney Baldry
High School:
1st, Overall, Best in Category: Design Proposal, Technical Pitch, Academic Poster and Poster Symposium, YVTC/PNNL, Chiawana HS, Bradley Caufield, Soleil Olivera, Ryan Abastillas
2nd, Overall , Spokane , Shadle Park HS , Ella Hoerner, Kadance Butler
3rd, Overall, SW (Vancouver), Fort Vancouver HS, Ricky Bui, Jerson Meza, John Rayhawk