LUMBERTON — Lumberton Junior High School’s Technology Club brought home a prestigious award from the North Carolina Regional Future City Competition held recently in Raleigh.
Students from grades 6-8 who are part of the school’s Technology Club brought home the Grid Energizer Award earned during the competition on January 25 at North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center. Students who participated were Carmen Miray, Maddison Platt, Able Zuniga, Oliver Green, Immanuel Spencer, Vicent Ellison, Travis Poe and Gcoble Williams.
The award, presented by Siemens Energy, “recognized the grid design which incorporated many advanced features such as an underwater subway, floating carbon capture, and power generation from wind, solar, and ocean thermal sources,” said Team Mentor David Causey.
“What they did an outstanding job of was showing how they built their grid into their underwater train system to collect and distribute power via all their energy generation systems. And they also had an early warning system to detect hazards. So congratulations to them,” said Matt Neal Vice President of Grid Solutions North America for Siemens Energy, while presenting the award to students.
North Carolina Regional Future City Competition participants were tasked with finding a solution to a “citywide sustainability issue” by “using the Engineering Design Process and project management skills,” according to the Future City website. This year, the challenge was to design a floating city for the year 2125.
The process began in September when team members were introduced to multiple branches of engineering, Causey said. Students then began to plan how each branch would contribute to the design, construction, and operation of the floating city.
Phyllis King, a Career and Technical Education teacher at LJHS and Technology Club adviser, shared words of excitement for her students’ achievement.
“I enjoy working with our students and the Future City project encourages them to think globally and solve problems in their communities and the world,” King said.
“I am so proud of them and the work and time that they committed to this. Thank you, parents, for your support. You have amazing kids and you should be proud of them,” she added.
PSRC Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson shared congratulatory remarks for the team’s recognition and their participation in the competition.
“This competition is a great way to encourage our students to develop forward-thinking and critical problem-solving skills that will benefit our communities as they grow into our leaders of tomorrow. Congratulations, students, Ms. King, and Dr. Watson on a job well done,” Dr. Williamson said.