SEQUIM — Seven students from Sequim’s Olympic Peninsula Academy are raising money to take their creativity to Tennessee.
The team the “Odd People’s Association” competed in creative challenges regionally and statewide for the coveted chance to attend Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, set for May 25-28 in Knoxville.
To raise the $150,000 needed for the trip, students have worked for the past month holding car washes and a bazaar, and doing yard jobs after school, said Joy Beihler, a parent of one of the members and one of the chaperones who will attend the event with the team.
So far, the group has raised $9,000.
A car wash is planned today at the J.C. Penney parking lot at 651 W. Washington St.
Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination Inc. is an international, volunteer-led nonprofit with a vision “to teach students the creative process and empower them with the skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world.”
Since it incorporated in 1982, student teams from around the world participate in Destination Imagination through its Challenge Program, where they solve STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts and service learning challenges, then present their solution before trained appraisers.
Having scored well locally, the Odd People’s Association will gather with more than 8,000 student teams from a variety of U.S. states and other countries in Knoxville.
‘Get a Clue’
There, the team will compete in the Fine Arts Challenge “Get a Clue” — one of seven team challenges.
In this challenge, the teammates marry theater arts and creativity with scriptwriting, prop construction and costume design.
The team’s solution to the Fine Arts Challenge is a skit inspired by the women’s movement during the 1960s in the U.S., with author and feminist Betty Friedan as one of their characters.
The skit, which they have been working on since September, is mystery that takes place from a pie shop where an extra chapter from Friedan’s groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique goes missing.
From writing the script and constructing the set to researching the time period for accurate costume design, “I think they’ve done an amazing and creative job,” said Dee Dee Nielsen, Odd People’s Association manager.
Like all teams attending globals, the team also will participate in an Instant Challenge where they’re allowed mere minutes to solve a challenge.
“We had no idea that we would be going to globals . . . we were just going to be happy if we placed,” Nielsen said, “I’m so proud of these kids.”
Other than facilitating the class, acting as “peacekeeper” and helping the students stay on task, Nielsen and her team co-manager, Michele Canepa, aren’t allowed to help the team come up with their solutions to the challenge.
“One of the really neat things about our team is it’s primarily a middle school team, but we have one high schooler, so we have to compete at the high school level,” she said.
Teammates
Teammates include 11th-grader Tanner Berryhill; eighth-grader Emily Nielsen; seventh-graders Devin Rynearson, Xander Bolinger and Gianna Halo; and sixth-graders Cadence Biehler and Aiyana Dennis.
The opportunity to attend globals is “really awesome,” Cadence said.
Because communication is among the many life skills practiced at Destination Imagination’s Global Finals attending “will definitely help me in my future,” she said, noting she’d like to pursue journalism.
Devin echoed his teammate’s excitement at the chance to travel to Tennessee.
“It feels really good,” he said. “People from all over the world are going to be at this one spot, and there are going to be so many different things to do and try.”
Beyond the tournament, scheduled festivities at Global Finals include interactive exhibits, pin trading, skills workshops and international events.
Global Finals is sponsored by Destination Imagination supporters including NASA, 3M, Disney, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Oracle Academy, Mayo Clinic, Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, ShareSpace Foundation, PCG Education, National Geographic, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Partnership for 21st Century Learning and other industry organizations.
“I’ve been told by people that have gone that it’s one of the best experiences the students could have,” Nielsen said.
The cost of going is a “daunting task,” but knowing the invaluable experiences to be had, “it’s something we need to do,” she said.
The team has been working hard, Nielsen said. They’ve weeded yards, washed a yacht, removed a deck, dug holes, painted and held several car washes.
“This is a rare and exciting opportunity for these kids,” Nielsen said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Donations
Donations will help with travel, registration and competition fees.
To contribute, make checks out to OPA PTO or visit www.gofundme.com/jcynzyhe.
For instructions on how to make a tax-deductible contribution, email olypenacademypto@gmail.com.
For more information on Destination Imagination Inc., visit www.destinationimagination.org.
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Alana Linderoth is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach her at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
PDN Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
