STUDENTS EXCEL IN 'MIND' GAMES - GET GOOD HELP
April 2, 2004     Greenville Herald Banner

It's a not a new idea and it's a subject you've read about in our local opinion columns on several occasions.  But, we're afraid it falls on deaf ears all too often.

This weekend groups of Greenville students have left town to participate in some rather challenging competition, dealing with topics many of us adults have a hard time fathoming.

One group is made up of GHS students competing for state honors in Destination ImagiNation, a contest challenging students to use not only textbook knowledge, but also imagination and creativity to solve problems.

The DI teams of which there are five, will go up against some of the other brightest minds in the state in an effort to advance to the world meet at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

FIRST team members are off to Houston and by the time you read this will be in the middle of their bid for a trip to nationals in Atlanta, Ga., later this month.

This group of youngsters, known to the state judges unremarkably and simply as Team 148, will be putting to the challenge their robot that has a much more sophisticated moniker, "Lone Star."  It will be going up against robots from 44 other FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) teams from across Texas.

In the crowd cheering these teams on will be their coaches and sponsors, the real unsung heroes of DI and FIRST.

These people are examples of the high standards of academic competition that results when the community and business and industry become involved with the educational dimensions of a town or city.

In this case, it is engineers from L-3, teachers, parents and interest parties volunteering their time, expertise and energy to the projects.

Sponsors of the programs can never say enough about these people who add those extra facets of learning, leadership and development that will be put to work by the students as they enter adulthood and become members of the community.

We wish the best of luck to our "teams," but the fact they are there competing is the real reward for them, their support groups and for Greenville.