The Estancia Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program is making waves at the state level. This is the first year Estancia has participated in the program and it's already a force to be reckoned with, according to program adviser Stephanie Henderson.

The students competed for the first time at the New Mexico MESA Central Region Winter Design competition Feb. 5, and brought home the third-place trophy. They competed against teams from East Mountain, Manzano, Highland, Valley, Albuquerque and Del Norte high schools, Gilbert Sena Charter High School and South Valley Academy. Teams competed in six different competitions: wind energy, robotics, roller coaster, on-site science, on-site math and on-site surprise.

The wind energy team had the task of building a windmill, powered solely by wind, that would lift the maximum amount of weight in the shortest time. They took second place behind Valley High School, and their score was one of the highest in the state. The robotics team came in fourth place, behind Albuquerque, Del Norte and Manzano. The robotics team had to program a LEGO Mindstorm robot to act like a bumper car and bump Hot Wheels cars out of a small arena.

The winners will advance to the state competition in April. However, due to severe budget cuts, only the first-place winners from each region will advance, Henderson said.

"So the only way our wind energy team will go is if the Valley High School team cannot go," she said.

Competition isn't the only place Estancia MESA students have been seen recently. On Feb. 10, the MESA student officers went to the state legislative session. Together with other New Mexico MESA students, advisers and board members, they asked for the Senate's support in passing Senate Bill 82, proposed by Cynthia Nava. It called for the allocation of $150,000 for the New Mexico MESA program, Henderson said. The students met with legislators and watched the bill pass 43-0 in the Senate. Estancia MESA president Natalie Stokes and one of the secretaries, Emily Chavez, paged for Rep. Rhonda King and Rep. Richard Vigil, respectively.

The MESA program, funded by New Mexico MESA, Inc., has garnered a lot of interest in Estancia, with more than 60 students registered. It is also advised by Rhonda Tully and Colleen Leach.