Five College of Western Idaho (CWI) Dual Credit students are competing for $2,500 and a trip to California through a nation-wide contest aimed at promoting geothermal energy. The competition is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, in partnership with the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and the Idaho National Laboratory, to promote the future of clean energy. Students from Thomas Jefferson Charter School in Caldwell entered the competition as part of a CWI Dual Credit class project. Fifteen high school entries from Idaho, including two from Thomas Jefferson Charter, were selected to advance to the second round of the contest.
Emma Brickey, Rebecca Lamb, Dorla Rueda, Breanna Thompson, and Emma Siple make up the two Thomas Jefferson teams selected to advance in the contest. The project was part of Jamie Brunmeier’s biology 120 class, through which all five students are earning college credits from CWI. Thompson and Siple collaborated on one submission, while Brickey, Lamb, and Rueda partnered on another. Their entries required research on geothermal energy and creation of an infographic on the topic.
After being selected to advance to the regional round of the competition, both teams have been revising their work based on judges’ feedback. Updated infographics must be re-submitted by May 15 for consideration in the final, national round of the competition. The final phase of the competition will consist of developing and executing a social media campaign to promote the submitted infographic.
The winning teams selected from round three in both the high school and college categories will receive $2,500. The overall grand prize winner will receive $2,500 and a trip to the Geothermal Resource Council’s 40th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, Oct. 23-26. For more information on the competition, visit www.caesenergy.org/geothermaldesign/.