Morton East engineering students competed at the State Finals of the Illinois Design Educators Association at ISU recently.

Students competing at state included the Architectural Design Team of Mia Galvez, Anahi Solis and Javier Torres, the Engineering Design Team of Marlene Urbina, Samantha Rangel and Adrian Comas, Introduction to CAD qualifiers Monica Garcia and Jovani Sanchez, and 3D Assembly Modeling qualifier Evelyne Velazquez.

You’d think that being a high school athlete is tough, but being in a challenging academic club is equally tough– and competitive.  Most high schools offer an introduction to an engineering course. Through this course, students learn about how engineers design, plan, and build projects. J Sterling Morton East High School has an engineering program open to all its students. It’s a highly recommended program to take as an elective because it makes students think outside the box and meet new people with different ideas. With this, the Morton East engineering students were able to compete on a Saturday at the 46th annual State Finals of the Illinois Design Educators Association at Illinois State University.

“Anyone can join this program. You don’t need to have certain skills or GPA. All you need is motivation to learn, and soon students who join will develop the skills needed with practice,” said senior Marlene Urbina.

Just like sports, as the days go by, students will learn, get tips and advice from peers, and soon develop the skills needed.

“Going to ISU was a nerve-wracking experience. We were all nervous, but in the end, after we won, it felt great! Engineering design placed 1st in the state, and the Architecture Design team placed 3rd in the state,” mentioned senior Anahi Solis.

Making it into finals at a big university and winning as a high school student is tough but definitely a remarkable experience!

“Students solved problems on their own. If they needed help, it is recommended the students help each other out. I think the most beautiful part about the competition was seeing students help each other out and just try and see how someone solved a problem and compare answers,” Marlene Urbina stated.

Even at finals, it’s highly important to work as a team. In situations like these, it’s important to stick together.

“Joining the competition was voluntary. My team and the engineering team willingly chose to do it,” Anahi Solis said.

17 Morton East students participated in the 46^th Annual Illinois Design Educator’s Regional Competition at Triton College; 9 of those 17 went on to the state competition.

Being involved in school, especially in such an interesting engineering program/club, will let students in on many wonderful experiences they’ve never had before.