With the judges staring into his soul, a smile of confidence spread across senior Daniel George’s face as he pushed forward with his speech over what EAST has been doing this year and why they are the best EAST program in the nation.
“We had a great chance of winning the Founder’s Award because of our indepth work with the community and the advanced technology we use to make a lasting impact,” said George.
All the projects they have been working on were presented, such as lip-dub, which will be available in early spring, graphic designs, logos, and an oral history of their community collaborations like the “Pick up, not pick on” and texting and driving campaigns.
“We had been practicing for the past few weeks. I had not originally liked public speaking, but this has been a journey of self-improvement and I have learned that it really isn’t that hard,” said junior Madison Haskins.
George and Haskins have been practicing everyday for weeks now on the speech they presented to a panel of judges in order to obtain the Tim Stevenson Founder’s Award at the national conference in Hot Springs, Ark.
“No other school has ever won it twice,” said senior Tony Orellana. “The founders award is the highest award in EAST. It’s big news.”
He and seven others left for the conference, including George and Haskins, Feb. 27. Watson, Luke Burton, Kara O’dell, Victoria Burton, Alex Collins, Jake Harrington, Tony Orellana, and Alexis Collins showcased their individual projects to win minor awards, which all involve technology and community.
“EAST is what you make of it and these kids have made a lot out of it. They were outstanding and deserve to be rewarded,” said EAST teacher Debbie Lamb. This is the second time in three years that they have won the award. A group cannot win two years in a row.
More than 60,000 other programs participated from all over the nation, even Hawaii. Awards were given out Sunday, March 3.