|
Pictured from Left to Right: London Eberly, Kate Schinaman, Libby
Kaibas, Paige Heitkamp, and
Hope Falkowski. Not pictured: Becca Martin.
|
|
We Are IT! Ladies
Participate in Global Competition
A team of local young ladies recently returned from Destination
Imagination’s (DI) global finals, the largest creative thinking and
problem solving competition in the world. Held in Knoxville, Tennessee,
the team was among more than 13,000 students representing more than
1,400 teams that advanced to global finals.
Destination Imagination is an educational program where teams of
students are immersed in the creative process needed to solve
open-ended challenges, and then present their solutions at regional and
state tournaments. If they win at those levels, teams may receive an
invitation to the global finals.
The team consisted of young ladies who participated in Edison Community
College’s We Are IT!, an annual science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (S.T.E.M.) program. All from Tipp City, team members
included London Eberly, Hope Falkowski, Paige Heitkamp, Libby Kaibas,
Becca Martin, and Kate Schinaman.
The team, dubbed Double Digits, competed in the Feary Tales category,
one of seven challenges that required participants to apply S.T.E.M.
principles, improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management,
communication, innovation, teamwork, and community service throughout
the competition. The team placed 39th overall in their category of over
60 teams.
“I am so incredibly proud of these girls. They have shown perseverance
and stamina through a very tough process, and they are all so
talented,” said Team Manager Shawn Falkoski.
Kate Schinaman said of the trip, “I really enjoyed the entire
experience… opening ceremonies, pin trading, meeting people from other
countries, the workshops… it was all a lot of fun!”
“I agree,” chimed in Paige Heitkamp, “we learned so much from the other
teams. The Duct Tape ball was a lot of fun, too!”
In addition to the competition, the girls attended the Alice
programming language workshop together. They also participated in other
workshops with topics including sound effects, costuming, The Voice
music training hosted by The Exchange, and Lion King animal movements
sponsored by Disney. Buzz Aldren hosted a workshop and Paula Abdul was
also in attendance for dance training.
Destination Imagination has had a positive impact on more than 1.5
million young people and adults who have benefitted from taking part in
its acclaimed Challenge Program. This year, another 100,000 young
people competed in tournaments throughout the U.S. and in 30 countries
to earn a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.
“The Destination Imagination Program allows students kindergarten
through university level to learn and experience the creative process,”
said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. “We’ve seen the
development of superior aptitudes in analytical thinking, leadership,
project management, teamwork, communication, research and innovation in
hundreds of thousands of youth since our organization’s inception three
decades ago, and we believe Destination Imagination has the potential
to bridge the gap between what is taught in our schools and the
thinking skills our youth will need to succeed in the world of the
future.”
This year will mark the 10th anniversary for Edison Community College’s
We Are IT! program, which has encouraged over 1,500 young ladies to
explore S.T.E.M. fields. Scheduled for Friday, November 13, this year’s
one day, hands-on program is open to young women in grades 8–10.
Registration information will become available in August. For more
information, contact Cathy Barrow by calling 937-778-7885 or emailing
cbarrow@edisonohio.edu.
|
|
|
|
