Out of the 500 students from 29 different schools who participated in the 13th annual STLP show case, 13 of our very own Dunbar STLP members qualified to move on to the state competition. Freshman Nicholas Iman, senior Beth Anne Brumfield and senior Stephen Perry led three groups to qualify for state along with eight other teams from different schools. Group leader Perry said, “it’s a fun experience, you learn how to present your project and you get to look at all the other projects.”

Showcase projects were grouped into three categories- instructional, service, and technical. The groups were graded based on a ten minute interview. Of the 11 qualifying projects, Dunbar presented the projects Dunbar Planner App, DunbX and Techiepalooza. Perry described the interview as “here’s our idea; here’s what our plan is.” Based on this, students have to put together a game plan for the project and be able to present it to the judges at the fall showcase.

Perry led the Dunbar Planner app project, which focused around the idea of an app, made for students in which they would subscribe to teacher’s classes to stay updated on their assignments. The students would then receive notifications for their classes on things such as upcoming homework assignments or tests. They plan on having the website portion of the project up and running by the state showcase.

Imam led the Dunbx group. Although Imam was not available for an interview, his fellow group members were able to provide some information. The group presented a graphic design project where different companies in Lexington would offer a free sponsorship for students to create advertisements for the companies.

Brumfield led the Techiepalooza project. This project was centered around the idea of an instructional project in educating middle school students on things such as programming or even taking apart a computer. The group plans on expanding to other counties. “We want more students from Fayette County to come because there are schools that don’t know we do this,” said Brumfield, “On top of that, it only cost ten dollars, and the students get pizza.”

The state showcase will be held on April 22, 2016 at Rupp Arena, where students will present a final project to the judges. One showcase from each division will be presented at the ITSE National Technology Conference. Other STLP students are Hunter Bellamy, Mary Crowley, Omar Hassan, Alex Lopez, Lalith Manukonda, Flor Mucino, Rohan Palla, Mackenzie Sorensen, Jack Thomas and Caroline Wright. Congratulations to our Dunbar STLP!