scholarships » Students for a Creative Iowa

A Successful Program Year

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May 082013

Hello All Creative Problem Solvers,

On behalf of the Students for a Creative Iowa (cre8iowa) board, I would like to say THANK YOU for participating in the Destination Imagination® program through the Iowa Affiliate organization, cre8iowa. Whether you are a veteran or a new participant, you should be congratulated on a great season.

To view the State competition results please go Competition Results page. We want to congratulate all of the first place teams in every Challenge and level that have qualified to advance to Global Finals at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville on May 22-25, 2013. If you want to watch as our proud Iowa teams participate in the largest creative thinking and problem solving competition in the world, stay tuned to DITV. Congratulations also to Joe Bantz, Team Manager for West Des Moines team 112-46655, Jenius Gellybeans, for earning a Spirit of DI Award.

If you have not yet done so, this would be a great time to have a DI celebration. Have a party, have the students perform their Challenge one last time, have the parent do an IC, the sky is the limit. I would encourage all teams to celebrate their success, whether that is competitive success and/or successful completion of a journey through the creative process.

Are you asking yourself what (if anything) have you learned from participating? I bet if you start listing all the skills and research factoids, you would be surprised. The 2013 Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship and the 2013 Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship winner, Virginia Bantz, has some encouraging words on why to participate in DI:

DI has given me the tools I need to easily adapt to new situations, help people use their strengths, and lead those around me to a common goal. And though I have not yet had the opportunity to save the world with a bed sheet and Popsicle sticks, I know I will be ready.

Congratulations Virginia on being selected as this year’s scholarship winner and thank you to all who applied.

If you have more questions after your first year as a participant or you are an old hat at this, you should keep checking out our website, www.cre8iowa.org, and the Members Only Gallery. We have all sorts of materials and activities including ideas on how to keep all those creative juices flowing (stay in DI mode all year), how to get even better at Instant Challenge (you want to take home the new IC medal home don’t you?), how to help jump start your team (it’s never too early to be thinking about next year). Speaking of next year, take a gander at the 2013-14 Challenge Previews. Where do those previews lead you?

Also consider submitting a design for the Pin and T-shirt Design Contest. Please check the Contest page for more details. The 2012 team members of “Deafened by the Sneeze,” in addition to Avery Travis from Fairfield, are co-winners of the 2013 Pin & T-shirt DIsign Contest. Congratulations!

Still have more questions? Please email us at cre8iowa@gmail.com.

Creatively yours,

Alisha Heisterkamp

Affiliate Director, Students for a Creative Iowa

State Tournament Results

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Apr 172012

Congratulations to all of our teams for sharing their creativity, teamwork and problem-solving efforts with us, and for entertaining each audience. We hope each team will hold a celebration soon to recognize students for their accomplishments, their strides in learning, and the experiences they gained. Sixteen first-place teams and one “Wild Card” team (Seductive Reasoning from Fairfield, Team 112-42484) have earned the right to advance to Global Finals being held May 23-26, 2012 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. You can follow all of the competitive and recreational activities at the Global Finals Web site.

Special recognition

Special recognition goes to several teams and individuals for their accomplishments.

Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award

The TAG Team from Evans Middle School in Ottumwa, Team 112-16416, earned a Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award in Team Challenge E, Hold It! “The team forgot their structure at home,” said the Appraisers. “They did not sulk or complain. They disassembled and reworked their delivery device to obtain materials. They developed a new design and built a new and working structure. The team maintained a very positive ‘get it done’ attitude throughout the episode. They maintained a great attitude.” Congratulations, The TAG Team! Such perseverance is truly the Spirit of DI! The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.

Renaissance Award

Also earning a special award was Hypothetically we have a Giant Mushroom from Maharishi School of Fairfield, Team 112-24943, which earned the Renaissance Award in Team Challenge B, The Solar Stage. “This team,” said the Appraisers,” did an excellent job researching and integrating unique scientific and theatrical components. They demonstrated advanced knowledge through communicating with experts and integrating solar energy within an ‘unearthly realm.’ They applied advanced lighting techniques to demonstrate their scientific components as well as their theme. Lighting created both mood and motion effectively. They built an infinity mirror completely from scratch that reflected light as if it had been professionally made and was very effective as a representative of a wormhole. Their dialog was well executed and explained the science behind their story very well. The theatrical lights were very thoughtful. Each theme had a different color. The whole story was smooth and integrated with the element choices. They demonstrated an extraordinary amount of effort and preparation with their solution and outstanding performance, engineering and design.” Congratulations to this team for an outstanding job all-around! The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship

Congratulations are in order for Ethan Marshall Lloyd of Maple Valley Anthon Oto, a seven-year Destination ImagiNation® participant who was awarded the Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship in the amount of $500, to be used at a post-secondary institution of his choice. “Destination ImagiNation has been a great learning experience for me,” wrote Ethan in his scholarship application. “This is an experience that is unlike any other I have experienced in school. DI is a place for me to think out of the box and try to solve problems in different ways . . . . I have learned that no idea is a bad idea and many great things may spring out of a totally off the wall or silly concept. The trick is to channel and focus these types of ideas and use them as a jumping off point and develop them into workable concepts.”

Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship

Ethan Marshall Lloyd was also awarded the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship, which honors the memory of two former Destination ImagiNation® participants (Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts), who lost their lives early in life but were great role models for community service. The $500 scholarship is awarded to a graduating high school student who has participated at least 2 years in Destination ImagiNation®, and who has made an impact as a community volunteer. Ethan wrote about April 9th last year, the same day that the State Tournament took place, to explain one of his volunteer experiences. “It was April 9th and I had just a little stage fright. It was the night of the high school play, and just as the first act was ending, the sirens started to howl. We all took cover in the basement while a tornado struck our town. When we exited the school building, we were amazed at the devastation. The work had just begun. Over the next several weeks I volunteered every chance I got. I helped clear trees and clean up the community. I helped load tin that had blown off buildings and spent many hours cleaning insulation from the chain link fence at school.”

Besides participating in the clean-up effort necessary in the aftermath of a tornado, Ethan volunteers three days a week in a special education classroom by reading to the students. After participating at Boys State his junior year, he became an assistant counselor. When the communities near the Missouri River had flooding last year, Ethan and several of his classmates helped clean up the area around Brown’s Lake. “Volunteering has taught me how to work with others,” he says. “After the tornado hit, I worked with many different people, old and young, male and female, students from different schools and even people who were just passing through and wanted to help. We worked together to move big pieces of debris. I have learned that no matter how bad things may look, if we work together and help each other, we can rise above the situation.”

Ethan plans to study video game design and computer science at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota next fall.

cre8iowa Pin & T-Shirt DIsign Contest

Congratulations and thank you to the two Fairfield girls, Avery Travis and Leanna Miller from Maharishi School, who won the cre8iowa Pin & T-shirt DIsign Contest for the 2012 Legendary Creativity Iowa Affiliate pin and T-shirt that will be worn proudly by all Iowa Global Finals participants, as well as their supporters, at the international competition. The 2013 contest is currently underway. Please visit the contest rules page to learn about submission guidelines. The submission deadline is Monday, July 2, 2012.

Thanks for your support!

It takes many volunteer hours and donations to support the Destination ImagiNation® program in Iowa. Special thanks go to the following for their assistance this past season:

All Affiliate Board members
Bruce Antion, Tournament Director
Affiliate Webmasters
All Challenge Masters
Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Sub-state and State Tournaments
Terry Lowe and the folks from Chartwells who provided food service for our Tournaments
Mary Boothsby for volunteering at the Sales Table and for donations of sales inventory
Deanna Jens for donations of sales inventory
American Legion Foundation for its grant used for medals, plaques and training workshops
Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of its facilities for Board meetings and the Advanced Team Manager Training Workshop
Kuemper Catholic School in Carroll for hosting our Western Appraiser training
Ames Middle School for hosting our Central Appraiser training and Tournaments, and free use of its facilities
BluTrack for donating race track and associated supplies for the Games Table
Hy-Vee, 555 South 51st Street in West Des Moines for donating Instant Challenge supplies for the State Tournament
Everyone who donated to the Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship and the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship Funds
All Appraisers, Tournament volunteers, Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the Destination Imagination® experience to Iowa students

Competition results

Tournament results are available below:

State Tournament announcements

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Mar 062012

Thank you to all of your teams for sharing your creativity, teamwork and problem-solving with us at the Sub-state Tournament. If you did not already see your team’s scores, they are on the state Web site on the Competitions page.

Those of you who have been with us for a number of years likely know that though we recognize 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams at the Sub-state Tournament, ALL of our competitive teams advance to the State competition unless:

they do not have a trained Appraiser who also served at Sub-state this season
they made no visible effort toward a viable solution at the Sub-state Tournament
they are disqualified because of Interference in Instant Challenge (discussing their Instant Challenge with non-team members before Global Finals), or
they choose not to advance.

We are looking forward to seeing your improved solutions at the State Tournament. Watch for a special post this week about understanding your Tournament scores.

Lost & Found:

Several items were left behind at the Sub-state Tournament. If you have lost something, please send us an email, letting us know what you have lost or left behind, and we’ll let you know if that item has been found.

Who qualifies to compete at Global Finals at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville May 23-26, 2012?

Global Finals qualification is a two-step process, consisting of (a) being the first place team in a Challenge and Level at the State Tournament, and (b) being certified as “Globals ready” by the Affiliate Director.
If your team is the only team in its Challenge and Level, you qualify to advance to Global Finals only if your team is certified as being “Globals ready” by the Affiliate Director.
If there is a first place tie, then the tied teams may qualify to advance to Global Finals. A tie consists of 2 or more teams that are within 1 point of each other.
If a first place team chooses not to compete at Global Finals, then the 2nd place team may be invited in its place. If you are a 2nd place team, do not discard your props immediately after the Tournament! Wait for a couple of weeks before doing so.

State Tournament schedule:

The schedule will be posted on the Web site 1 to 1-1/2 weeks before the Tournament so that you have time to get your special schedule requests to us.
Special schedule requests must be submitted by the Coordinator or Team Manager only NO LATER than 14 days before the State Tournament. We will do our best to accommodate special requests, but please understand that some requests may not be logistically possible. Please be as specific as possible in your request. Provide your team number and details in writing about why you need special accommodations.
If a special situation comes up AFTER the schedule is published, you are allowed to exchange places with another team in the SAME CHALLENGE & LEVEL if both teams notify us in advance. The exchange is then for both the Team Challenge and the Instant Challenge.
If your team withdraws from the State Tournament, please let us know, since this affects the schedule.
All special schedule requests need to be emailed to: cre8iowa@gmail.com

Scholarship applications:

Do you have high school students who are graduating this year? Please get the word out to them that we have 2 scholarships for which they can apply. One is the non-renewable Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship for $500. The other is the non-renewable Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship for $500. Both scholarships require applicants to write essay responses of 250-750 words apiece to 4 questions.
The deadline for submitting scholarship applications is Friday, March 16, 2012.
Scholarship application details are found here: http://www.cre8iowa.org/2010-2011-season/scholarships/

Tell Us Your Story Video Contest:

Destination ImagiNation has been changing lives for 29 years. With more than a million alumni and 38,000 volunteers worldwide, it has made a huge impact on many kids and adults. So tell us how DI has changed your life. We want to hear about the late nights practicing, about your first Tournament with your team, life-long friendships, and problems solved. Be creative and tell us something great!
This contest is open to ALL Destination Imagination team members, Team Managers & volunteers. The winning team member or Team Manager will receive free passes to Global Finals 2012 for their whole team. If you are a volunteer without a team, your winning entry will allow you to send the team of your choice to Global Finals. All you have to do is produce a 60-second video that tells us your story!
The deadline for this contest is Friday, March 16, 2012.
Details about the contest may be found here: http://www.idodi.org/index.php/who-we-are/news/347-tell-us-your-story-video-contest

Parade of Shirts at State Tournament:

There will be a Parade of Shirts at the State Tournament.
Use your creativity to embellish the back of this season’s Affiliate T-shirt, whose theme is Legendary Creativity.
Get permission from your parents/guardians to participate.
To participate, sign up your team at the Sales & Registration table by 3:30 p.m.
A minimum of 5 teams is required.

If you have questions about anything in this post, please feel free to contact Judy Nolan at judynolan@aol.com.

Globals-bound team comes home to tornado

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Apr 182011

At 7:20 p.m. following the State Tournament held in Ames on April 9th, 2011, a tornado three-quarters-of-a-mile wide with winds of at least 136 miles per hour swept through the town of Mapleton, located in northwest Iowa. Four high school students who had competed at the Destination ImagiNation® Tournament that day left early to participate in a play at their school, never realizing the true life drama that would ensue. Five minutes into their performance, tornado sirens began howling, sending everyone to shelter. Trees were ripped from the earth and flew through windows, one of the boys lost his family’s car, and sixty percent of the community was flattened. Fortunately, no lives were lost during this horrific event, but many homes and businesses in Mapleton were destroyed.

The four Mapleton students who performed at the Destination ImagiNation Tournament qualified to advance to Global Finals at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville on May 25-28, where they will compete against teams from all over the U.S. and 30 countries. To get to Global Finals, every team member must raise $610 for room and board, plus additional dollars for state T-shirts and trading pins, and transportation for participants, chaperones and props. Ordinarily a team is able to count on its community for fundraising support, but the assistance the team would normally receive from Mapleton is now focused on a massive clean-up and rebuilding effort.

In recognition of these extraordinary circumstances and the special challenges facing The Laser Tag Team from Mapleton, Students for a Creative Iowa is awarding a one-time special distribution of $500 to this team from the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship was established in part to honor the memory of a Destination ImagiNation participant named Aaron Eilerts who died when a tornado struck his Boy Scout camp on June 11, 2008.

If you would like to assist the Mapleton team or any of Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation Global Finals teams in their journey to Global Finals, please e-mail cre8iowa@gmail.com to request contact information for that team. Include in your e-mail the name of the team you would like to support, the list of which may be found HERE.

If you would like to support the Mapleton relief effort, you can mail your donation to:

Mapleton Tornado Relief Fund
c/o First State of Mapleton
P.O. Box 78
Mapleton, IA 51038

State tournament results & special awards

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Apr 152010

Congratulations not only to the 15 teams that qualified to advance to Global Finals on May 26-29, 2010 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but also to ALL teams that showcased their solution at any Iowa tournament, regional or state. The fact that you followed through and completed your Challenge is a testament to your hard work and dedication, and also to the encouragement provided by your Team Manager and/or Coordinator, teachers, parents and family members. We enjoyed every one of your performances thoroughly! Now is the time for each team to celebrate its success, not only in terms of how you placed at a tournament, but also in terms of skills you gained and/or improved, friendships you made, and the fun you had.

Scores and press release

The scores for the State Tournament are posted at the state Web site here. You can analyze your results and see how you placed in your Central Challenge, Side Trips (if applicable) and Instant Challenge, and set some goals for next year. Please take a moment, too, to read the press release that appears here. You may wish to use all or part of this press release to announce your team’s results in your local community.

Renaissance Award

Besides the state-level 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners that were announced, congratulations are in order for the single You’re Gonna Flip! team that earned a Renaissance Award at the State Tournament. This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance. Congrats to the Fairfield team, No Idea (Team 112-99026) for earning a Renaissance Award in the areas of engineering and design. The Appraising team wrote, “This team demonstrated outstanding engineering and design ability in terms of a mirror. The interesting problem the team had to solve was how to crack and then shatter a mirror in a safe and repeatable way. The team was able to hang polycarbon material (in pieces) to create the illusion of a complete mirror within a wooden structure. Each piece had to be strung on a piece of fishing line and be perfectly positioned to create the proper illusion. With a pull (or rather, kick) of a lever at the bottom, they loosened only a few pieces to crack the mirror. Later, the team removed the top supporting beam to cause the ‘glass’ pieces to fall and shatter. The engineering and design ability needed to allow the mirror to break in two different ways and time is immense and fully deserving of this award.”

DaVinci Award

DIrect DIposit team 112-61235 from Moville, which is advancing to Global Finals, earned the only Da Vinci Award presented this program season. The award, which the Ferocious Five received at the Western Regional Tournament, recognizes exceptional creativity, a unique approach to the problem and/or risk taking. The Ferocious Five received this award for outstanding creativity. The Appraisers wrote, “This team comprehensively incorporated a significant current event to explain the critical importance of getting supplies into Haiti, a country decimated by a catastrophic earthquake. We feel this team displayed the qualities that exemplify the spirit of DI and deserve the Da Vinci Award for outstanding creativity. Throughout the storyline, the team displayed research of the event by understanding the quake’s magnitude and resulting devastation. They showed critical reasoning and an innate understanding of public policy and administration by making important determinations of which structures would have to be rebuilt to get supplies into the country and to administer to its people such as airports and hospitals. And finally, by demonstrating that they considered alternatives and chose the most effective means to quickly get supplies into the country, they displayed compassion and empathy that we found wonderful.”

Scholarships

Additional congratulations go to the students who earned college scholarships this year. Mary Emily Berge of Indianola High School was awarded a Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship, and Stephanie Choquette from Eagle Grove High School received the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship that honors the memory of former DI participants and volunteers Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts.

Mary Emily Berge has participated in the Destination ImagiNation program for 6 years. Her team received the Da Vinci Award twice, and earned 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the State Tournament on three separate occasions. She says, “In Destination ImagiNation I learned to think critically for the first time in my life . . . In DI I was presented with challenges that were hard for me, but fun because it was one of the first activities that ever engaged my mind.” Mary points out through the DI program, she also learned about responsibility, teamwork and compromise, and how to think on her feet.

Stephanie Choquette, who has been a Destination ImagiNation participant for 4 years, has been extremely involved with her church, teaching, playing music, serving on the parish council and more. She has volunteered for the local food pantry, the Humane Society of North Central Iowa, and Meals on Wheels. She tutors students and volunteers at her school, and is an active member of the Student Senate and Character Counts program. “It makes me feel good that I can make a difference in my community,” she says. “I am very grateful that my family helped me get involved and start doing community service activities. I have gained a new perspective on the way people and animals live that are less fortunate than I am.”

T-shirt and pin design

A big thank you goes to 7th grade student Temesha Derby of Grinnell, who is responsible for the design of the gumball pin. Another set of thanks goes to 7th grader Luke Whitney of Anthon-Oto Middle School for the light bulb design for the T-shirts. The T-shirts with this design will be worn proudly by all Iowa teams at Global Finals during Opening Ceremonies, and the pins will be traded with teams from around the world.

Appreciation

Thank you also to all of the following people who helped make Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation program a success this year:

Affiliate Board members
Tournament Directors
Affiliate Webmaster
All Challenge Masters
Temesha Derby from Grinnell (supported by Grinnell State Bank) for the 2010 state pin design concept
Luke Whitney from Anthon-Oto Middle School for the 2010 state T-shirt design concept
Dean Wallace of Carroll Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. for donating pop and bottled water for Appraisers
Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Eastern Regional and State Tournaments
Quiznos for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Western Regional Tournament
Doyle Forster and the folks from Chartwells who provided food service at the State Tournament
American Legion of Iowa Foundation for medals and award plaques
Cyber-Anatomy for providing free printing of some of the Instant Challenge Team Workshop materials
Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of facilities for Board meetings
Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools for hosting the Western Regional Tournament at a discounted rate
Kirkwood Community College and Ames Middle School for hosting our tournaments and free use of the facilities
Thanks to their site liaisons, as follows: Bruce Antion of Ames Middle School; Tim Fitzpatrick & Penny Miller of Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools; and Lori Bell of Kirkwood Community College
All Appraising volunteers, school Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the DI experience to Iowa students

We could not run this program without everyone’s efforts.

Congratulations once more to all Iowa teams, and thanks to everyone! We hope to see you back next year. Keep posted for news about our Global Finals teams, and about next year’s Challenges.

Scholarship opportunities for Iowa’s DI participants

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Nov 102009

Four separate scholarship opportunities are available to Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation participants. You can click on the Scholarship Opportunities link in the left side bar for information about each of the following scholarships, or you can visit the state Web site and click on the appropriate links.

The Destination ImagiNation Support Committee, or DISC, is once again offering $10,000 in scholarships to Destination ImagiNation participants. To be eligible, applicants must be pursuing a degree in a trade school, community college or university during the 2009-10 school year. In addition, they must have participated in at least one Destination ImagiNation-sponsored creative problem solving program, either as a team member or as a volunteer. Scholarship participants may participate in one of the following tracks: Personal Essay, Internet and Presentation. The maximum award for the Essay track will be $500. Award amounts for the other two tracks will be higher, and will be determined by the quality, value and depth of the entries submitted. For each application, the applicant’s creativity and involvement in the Destination ImagiNation program carry the most weight. Visit http://didisc.org/scholarshipinstructions for instructions on how to apply. The deadline for receipt of all application materials is February 1, 2010.

The MudDI Waters Consortium, which consists of 10 U.S. Affiliates (Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin), is offering a $500 for one year. Applicants must have participated on a Destination ImagiNation team, and must be seniors currently in high school who plan to attend a two or four-year college or trade school. In addition to providing information about DI involvement and education plans, students will need to furnish two letters of endorsement and write a 500-word essay. The application deadline is February 1, 2010, and the application form may be downloaded from http://www.cre8iowa.org/mwscholarshipform2010_final.pdf.

The Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship is available to Iowa high school seniors who have been involved in Destination ImagiNation for at least two years. The scholarship is a one-year, non-renewable grant of $350. It will be sent to the student’s post-secondary institution following verification of successful completion of the first semester at that institution. Students must write essay responses of 250 to 750 words each to four essay questions. Application materials must be postmarked or faxed by March 15, 2010. The winner will be announced at the Iowa Affiliate Tournament on April 10, 2010. Visit the state Web site to download the application.

The Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of two former Destination ImagiNation participants from Iowa. Dayle Kitch was a team member for 8 years and later an adult volunteer. Aaron Eilerts was a team member for 3 years. Both Dayle and Aaron are also remembered for their service work through church, school, community, Scouts and more. They both exhibited the Spirit of DI as they each faced challenges and often used their creative problem solving skills. Both lives ended too soon. Dayle died on May 29, 2007 after a short illness, and Aaron died on June 11, 2008 when a tornado struck a Boy Scout camp. The Spirit of DI Award is granted at tournaments in recognition of those who act as superior role models in the areas of spirit, sportsmanship, and volunteerism. Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts were role models for many of us. As a result, the Students for a Creative Board of Directors is offering this scholarship in their memory.

The Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship is available to Iowa high school seniors who have been involved in Destination ImagiNation for at least two years. The scholarship is a one-year, non-renewable grant of $350. It will be sent to the student’s post-secondary institution following verification of successful completion of the first semester at that institution. Students must write essay responses of 250 to 750 words each to four essay questions. Application materials must be postmarked or faxed by March 15, 2010. The winner will be announced at the Iowa Affiliate Tournament on April 10, 2010. Visit the state Web site to download the application.

State tournament results

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Apr 072009

Congratulations not only to the 13 teams that qualified to advance to Global Finals on May 20-23, 2009 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but also to ALL teams that showcased their solution at any Iowa tournament, regional or state. The fact that you followed through and completed your challenge is a testament to your hard work and dedication, and also to the encouragement provided by your Team Manager and/or Coordinator, teachers, parents and family members. We enjoyed every one of your performances thoroughly! Now is the time for each team to celebrate its success, not only in terms of how you placed at a tournament, but also in terms of skills you gained and/or improved, friendships you made, and the fun you had.

Scores and press release

That being said, the scores for the state tournament are posted at the state Web site here. You can analyze your results and see how you placed in your Central Challenge, Side Trips (if applicable) and Instant Challenge, and set some goals for next year. Please take a moment, too, to read the press release that appears here. You may wish to use all or part of this press release to announce your team’s results in your local community.

Renaissance Award

Besides the state-level 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners that were announced, congratulations are in order for the single Private DI team that earned a Renaissance Award at the state tournament. This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance. Kudos to the Carroll team, DI of the Tiger (Team 112-08221) for earning a Renaissance Award in the area of performance. The Appraising team wrote, “This team demonstrated exceptional theatrical skills. All team members were comfortable and critical in their roles. They incorporated a “voiceover” introduction that was effective and produced great humor. Not only were their actors in motion up front, but had great integration of ‘background’ movements all during the performance. They created an awesome ‘musical genre’ in their skit that included song and choreographed dance. Although improvised, this group could take their act on the stages on Broadway with their incredible theatrical abilities and stage presence!”

Scholarships

Another set of congratulations goes to the students who earned college scholarships this year. Marissa Paulsen of Carroll High School was awarded a Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship, and Hannah Smith, also from Carroll High School, received the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship that honors the memory of former DI participants and volunteers Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts.

Marissa Paulsen has participated in the Destination ImagiNation program for 7 years. Her team has consistently placed in the top five at the state tournament, and earned a trip to Global Finals twice. Marissa writes, “There is a quote I understand more and more after every Destination ImagiNation practice I attend–’There is no I in team.’ DI stresses the importance of teamwork, but I don’t think everyone realizes just how important it is for every aspect of Destination ImagiNation. Our DI team has many talented individuals, but I truly believe we could not have accomplished what we have without teamwork.”

Hannah Smith, who has been a Destination ImagiNation participant for 7 years as a co-teammate of Marissa Paulsen, is also a volunteer who has amassed more than 650 hours as a tutor, an outreach group role model, a church volunteer, a Big Sister and a mentor. In her scholarship application, Hannah points out, “Being a volunteer is time consuming, but I would not want to not be involved in some type of program that allows me to be me, where I see that I make the difference. My involvement in these programs has helped me develop a sense of who I am outside of school and my family. I am grateful that I have had these opportunities to volunteer with a variety of kids because I know I can treat each individual uniquely and make a positive difference.”

T-shirt and pin design

A big thank you goes to 9th grade student Jenna Dengler of Northwood Middle School in Ankeny, who is responsible for the treasure chest pin and T-shirt design this year. The T-shirts with this design will be worn proudly by all Iowa teams at Global Finals opening ceremonies, and the pins will be traded with teams from around the world.

Thank you

Thank you also to all of the following people who helped make Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation program a success this year:

Affiliate Board members
Tournament Directors
Affiliate Webmaster
All Challenge Masters
Rick Sweet for a $600 donation for computers
Grinnell Mutual Insurance for donating 6 laptops
Carroll Pepsi – Cola Bottlers & Rick Hoffman for donating pop and bottled water for Appraisers
Hy-Vee (Urbandale) for donating Instant Challenge materials
Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Eastern Regional and State Tournaments
American Legion of Iowa Foundation for medals and award plaques
Kwik Trip of Urbandale (100th St. & Douglas Ave.) for some Instant Challenge supplies
Laura Cruse for donating $20 when unable to attend the Instant Challenger
John Nolan for donating a printer
Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of facilities for Board meetings
Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools for hosting our tournament
Kirkwood Community College and Ames Middle School for hosting our tournaments and free use of the facilities
Thanks to their site liaisons, as follows: Bruce Antion of Ames Middle School; Tim Fitzpatrick & Penny Miller of Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools; and Lori Bell of Kirkwood Community College
All Appraising volunteers, school Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the DI experience to Iowa students

We could not run this program without everyone’s efforts.

Congratulations once more to all Iowa teams, and thanks to everyone! We hope to see you back next year. Keep posted for news about our Global Finals teams, and about next year’s Challenges.

State tournament announcements

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Mar 262009

As teams prepare for the upcoming state tournament on April 4th, you will wish to note the following additional information concerning the schedule, cafeteria offerings, scholarship application deadlines, and driving, parking and unloading directions.

The state tournament schedule is now ready for viewing here.

Cafeteria offerings and serving hours at the state tournament are found in the cre8iowa Document Library here.

Site information, which includes driving directions, unloading information and parking areas, can be found here.

The scholarship deadline for seniors who have completed 2 or more years of DI experience is on Sat., March 28th. There are 2 scholarships available, the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship, and the cre8iowa Student Scholarship. The winners of these scholarships will be announced at the state tournament. Download the applications from here (scroll down to view).

Scholarships Available to High School Seniors

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Feb 142008

Students for a Creative Iowa is awarding two student scholarships this year. Both scholarships are available to Iowa high school seniors who have been involved in Destination ImagiNation® for at least two years. Each scholarship is a one-year, non-renewable grant of $500. The grant will be sent to the student’s post-secondary institution following verification of successful completion of the first semester at that institution. Students need to postmark or fax the scholarship application by March 22, 2008. The winner(s) will be announced at the close of the Iowa Affiliate Tournament on April 5, 2008 at Ames Middle School in Ames, Iowa.

The first scholarship is the annual Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship that has been awarded in previous years. The 2006-07 scholarship was awarded to Erin Peeler of Indianola, who is currently attending Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

The second scholarship is the Dayle Kitch Memorial Scholarship that honors the memory of Iowan Dayle Kitch, a former Destination ImagiNation® participant. Dayle was a team member for 8 years. During that time she exhibited the Spirit of DI. No challenge, including her wheelchair, could prevent her from using her imagination or her creative problem solving and teamwork skills. While in college, Dayle continued to exhibit this “can do spirit” by serving as a Tournament Appraiser. Dayle died on May 29, 2007 and is missed by many, though her spirit lives on. The Spirit of DI Award is granted at tournaments in recognition of those who act as superior role models in the areas of spirit, sportsmanship, and volunteerism. Dayle Kitch was that role model for many of us. As a result, the Students for a Creative Iowa Board of Directors is offering this scholarship in Dayle’s memory.

To apply for either scholarship, students need to postmark or fax an application by March 22, 2008 to:

Jay Swords, Affiliate Director
Students for a Creative Iowa
1620 22nd Street
Rock Island, IL 61201
Fax: (563) 386-5508

Scholarship applications will also be available at both Regional Tournaments at the Sales & Registration table.

Please note that the deadline for the previously announced MudDI Waters Scholarship is Feb. 15 and that the application can be downloaded from the state Web site under the Scholarships link.