By Christina Mlynski
Carroll High School has a lot to brag about. The latestbrnotch in its belt: It was selected as one of 51 state winners in the SamsungbrSolve for Tomorrow Contest, which raises interest in Science, Technology,brEngineering and Math (STEM) learning across the country.
The winners received Samsung productsbrand Adobe software to compete in the next phase of the competition as well as abrtotal of at least $20,000 in technology.
“Webrcongratulate these winners,” says David Steel, executive vice president ofbrSamsung Electronics North America.
“The creativity and quality ofbrthese projects have raised the level of this competition to new heights. We arebrvery encouraged by what we've seen from these participants. Not only are webrexcited to see these projects come to life but also how these young people willbruse STEM after this contest to improve their own futures as well as the widerbrworld.”
Carroll was chosen from more thanbr2,300 applicants. Carroll High School teacher Alice FitzGerald is thebrringleader for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest, and her efforts willbrhelp to continue to build the new STEM program in Carroll Independent SchoolbrDistrict.
The national winners' ideas ran thebrgamut from compelling government action to remove carcinogens in the communitybrto reducing pollution with bicycles made from bamboo.
In the next stage of thebrcompetition, the state winners will submit a short video documenting theirbrproject from which 15 national finalists will be chosen. From those 15, fivebrwinners will be selected — three will be selected by a panel of judges, one bybrSamsung employees and the other by public online voting, which will take placebrfrom Feb. 14 to March 13.
The five national winners will eachbrreceive a technology package valued at $140,000 and be honored at an awardsbrceremony on April 14 in Washington D.C.