(Riverdale, MD) In a feat of academic prowess, teamwork and leadership, GapBuster Leaders-In-Training students in NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) Jr. chapters emerged victorious in their trip to Charlotte, NC from November 8-10 for the Fall Regional Conference for Region II of the National Society of Black Engineers. The students, from high and middle schools in Montgomery and Prince George's County, worked in teams in math competitions, winning two contests. Sligo Middle School student Chris Okorie claimed first place in the overall competition with the highest math score.
The NSBE conference, entitled the "R2FRC: Engineering and Leadership in Harmony," focused on growth and tested students intellectually through competition. In the TMAL (Try Math-A-Lon), which GapBuster's 9th and 10th graders participated in, the GapBuster team (dubbed "Hakuna Matata") obtained first place.
The Sligo Middle School "All-Stars," consisting of students from that school's NSBE Jr. chapter, won Math Counts. Eighth-grader Chris Okorie was the overall winner of the competition, and took home two medal for his excellent performance. Considering that GapBuster established a NSBE Jr. chapter at Sligo Middle School a few short months ago, this has been a great achievement for our organization, the students, and the volunteers and parents at Sligo.
GapBuster's NSBE Jr. chapters will represent Region II for the math competitions at the National Convention in March, which will be held in Memphis, Tennessee. Additionally, GapBuster will be presenting three teams to participate in the NASCAR Ten80 competition.
As part of the Leaders-In-Training program that GapBuster offers, the organization has three chapters, located in Wheaton High School, Sligo Middle School, and the Center for Educational Partnership in Riverdale, MD. Students from 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th grades from Sligo Middle School, Wheaton High School, Parkdale High School, Roosevelt High School and Montgomery Blair High School went to the Charlotte conference.
We thank the schools, parents, educators and volunteers that made our students' participation in this conference a success. We want to send a special thanks to Pat Price, parent volunteer, for her hard work and dedication in getting GapBuster's back into Sligo Middle School. We hope to see victory for GapBuster teens in the National Convention in March.
