High school students win IVCC engineering poster contest

Two students from LaSalle-Peru High School and one from Serena High School were the top winners in an engineering technology poster contest sponsored by Illinois Valley Community College.

Erica Funke of L-P won First Place for Overall Neatness and Organization; Hannah Graham of L-P won First Place for Best Overall; and Tierney Pinkous of Serena won First Place for Creativity.

Second Place in Creativity went to Jo E. Vasquez and Second in Best Overall to Britnee Eccles, both L-P students. Third Place in Creativity was won by Stephen Christopherson and Third in Best Overall by Tom Quesse, also both of L-P.

Johnny Delgado, Brooke Hannen, Emma Gillespie and Savanah Hatch, all of L-P, won Merit Awards.

"We were very pleased by the creativity and quality of the entries, especially since this was our first engineering poster contest," said Francie Skoflanc who organized the competition. Skoflanc, who is the program coordinator of graphic arts at IVCC, explained that high school students were invited to design posters to motivate young people to pursue a career in engineering or engineering technology.

The winners were recognized at a reception March 19 at the Hegeler-Carus Mansion, a historic landmark, in LaSalle, IL. Prizes for the competition were $100 for First Place, $50 for Second and $25 for Third.

Skoflanc said the poster contest will be an annual event. Next year junior high school students will be invited to enter in a special category.

The competition was supported by a $520,000 National Science Foundation grant which IVCC received in fall 2008. Winning entries will be utilized in the grant team’s recruiting efforts. The grant is directed by Dorene Perez, Program Coordinator of CAD/CAE, and co-directed by Jim Gibson, Program Coordinator of Electronics; Sue Caley Opsal, professor of anatomy and physiology; and Rose Marie Lynch, communications instructor.

Further information about the contest is available from Skoflanc at 815-224-0327 and at www.ivcc.edu/cmsstatic/cmsstatic/nsf.