Focus on TUSD - March 2007

Falcons "Fly High" at Future City Competition
How would you feel presenting in front of a panel of certified engineers? That is exactly what GATE students did at their competition on Jan. 20. Four teams from the Booth Fickett G.A.T.E. program competed against 66 other teams at the regional Future City Competition in Phoenix. This competition has several major components: a virtual computer city; a complex science essay; an abstract; a mathematically accurate scale model; and a presentation before a panel of engineers. While participating in this competition students learned new technologies, mathematics, engineering and architectural concepts, writing and research skills, public speaking, and how to develop solutions to current scientific problems.

One of the Booth Fickett teams, Nuova Vita, received the second-place award at this competition. Members were Hillary Roush, Thomas Logan, Denise Dewar, Blaine Manjarre, and Chathurangi Wijerathne. Three members of Nuova Vita presented in an elimination round in front of hundreds of people and seven celebrity judges. Another Booth Fickett eighth-grade team, named Lebenfraft, won the award for the Best Integrated Design from the Society of Women Engineers. Lebenfraft team members were Karl Stemm, Erik Wise and Gabe Radley . "It's all about teamwork, no one of us could have completed this project by ourselves. Once you recognize you need teamwork, you cannot be stopped," says Hillary Roush. Nicholas Zhu says, "We learned how to handle a lot of stress, and that can benefit us in everyday life and in the workforce."

Seventh-grader Adelynn Schafer says, "Future city was a good learning experience. We learned to manage our time better because of the need to meet deadlines." GATE students met this challenge with the assistance of retired engineer Vance Tanner; teacher Susan Kelly-Bryan; parent and architectural advisor Dawn Ranelle; and University of Arizona professor Peiwen Li. A $500 grant from Wells Fargo Bank helped to fund this project.

Students were fortunate to have the opportunity to compete in this truly unique competition. Presenter Thomas Logan shares that the FC Competition "involves teamwork, facing challenges and overcoming fears." All students say they have a new appreciation for engineers. Brianna Manjarre says, "Future Cities teaches us that we should appreciate all engineers do to solve problems we're facing in everyday life." These students realize the future is now!

The third step is to put our self-knowledge and the knowledge of others to use and make interactions between people of different cultural backgrounds positive and beneficial for all. In your personal life those interactions have the potential to offer friendships you never dreamed possible, and they offer interesting, mind expanding experiences you couldn't possibly gain interacting solely with people who hail from the same background as you. In your work those interactions have the potential to be productive, efficient, amiable, informative and capable of creating ideas also not possible without diverse viewpoints.

--Written by Hillary Roush
Edited by Susan Kelly Bryan

Photos courtesy of Booth-Fickett GATE Program.

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Unless otherwise noted, all photos in the March issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations.

The deadline to submit material for the April Focus is Friday, April 6. The Focus will be published Friday, April 13. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the Focus Online Submission Form.