Add as a preferred source on Google

Future Is Bright

The passion and creativity of several students is proof that amazing things are going to happen.

  • By Deborah P. Moore
  • 10/01/13

So often we hear about how our education system is failing, how we are not keeping pace with other countries, how our schools are putting the future of our country in jeopardy. All that I have to say to those who believe the hype is, you are wrong.

Last week at the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI) conference, I was fortunate enough to meet two high school students from Alaska, Ariel Hasse and Zachary Neubauer, who showed me just how bright our future can be. Ariel is currently a junior at Mat Su Career and Technical High School in Alaska. Zac, a high school senior, also attends the University of Alaska, Anchorage fulltime. Ariel and Zac presented their project called High School of the Future, a competition where students across the globe are asked to, “bring their own brand of creativity to the planning and design process” and design the dream high school of the future.

As they put it, “the story of High School of the Future begins with a group of dysfunctional, overly motivated students who decided to turn their summer into a memorable and exciting adventure.” Ariel had participated in CEFPI’s Middle School of the Future program, but winning that competition wasn’t enough — it ignited a passion. That, with the help of Zac, Courtney Monroe and a few friends, was the start of their own competition — High School of the Future. They developed the criteria for the competition, a website, futurehighschool.org/home.html, a video explaining the program, relationships with mentors and partnerships to help with funding the program.

It may have started as “their” project, but it is now open to high school students across the globe. In fact, they even suggested that the members of a team could be from different schools or even countries. Registration for their 2014 competition opened Sept. 20, with submissions due Feb. 7, 2014.

Meeting these students, listening to their thought process, and seeing what they accomplished was truly amazing. Many of those who saw their presentation asked the students if they were interested in coming to work for their company. For me, the question was… “can I come and work for you!” If students like this are our future, then the future is bright!

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • KI Launches K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

    Contract furniture company KI recently announced the launch of its fourth-annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, which awards $50,000 each to four K–12 educators across the U.S., according to a news release. The goal is to address decreasing student engagement and increasing teacher burnout numbers by updating learning spaces to accommodate modern needs.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

Digital Edition