GeoEngineers sponsored the recent Idaho Future City Competition at Boise State University, and Kevin Russ of our local Boise office volunteered his time to attend and help judge this annual event. On January 29, teams of sixth, seventh and eighth graders came together to show off their solutions to some of our society’s greatest STEM challenges. This year, students imagined what cities might look like in “A Waste Free Future.” Teams presented essays, built models of their city, and demonstrate their concept to a judging panel.
In addition to an overall Future City winner, special awards were given in different categories. GeoEngineers sponsored the award for “Best Environmentally Friendly City,” and Kevin helped select the winner. As a judge, he spent time with each team, asking questions and listening to their responses.
“The volunteer experience was great, the young engineers attending the event had some innovative and well thought out concepts,” Kevin says. “I gave the award to the White Pine Charter School because they gave a great presentation, dressed professionally, were very personable and had logical solutions for generating green energy.”
The final round of the competition included 30 teams from 15 schools across the state. The winning team moved on to represent Idaho in the national competition. Future City Competitions and similar STEM events help us inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists. Thanks to Kevin and the many other GeoEngineers staff members who invest in STEM education for kids—and in our future.
