New Hampshire Student Wins ACTE National Student Trophy Design Contest

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2019

Media Contact: Jarrod Nagurka
703-683-9312; jnagurka@acteonline.org

New Hampshire Student Wins ACTE National Student Trophy Design Contest
Recent Graduate of Seacoast School of Technology Wins National Award

Alexandria, VA – Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Seacoast School of Technology recent graduate Kathleen Terwilliger as the national student trophy design winner in its fourth annual student trophy design contest. Kathleen graduated from the Seacoast School of Technology in Exeter, New Hampshire in the spring of 2019. She was taught by Vaso Partinoudi, a Pre-Engineering educator at Seacoast School of Technology. The contest was sponsored by ACTE and Stratasys, Ltd., a manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems.

Since 1954, ACTE has awarded those who have made exemplary contributions in the field of career and technical education (CTE). The student trophy design contest is a competition for students to design the 3D trophy to be used to award the national winners at the association’s annual VISION conference. This year’s conference will be held in Anaheim, California with over 4,000 educators, administrators and CTE industry stakeholders in attendance. Kathleen’s submission was selected by ACTE’s Board of Directors out of 428 entries from students all across the country. In addition to having her design used to create this year’s trophies, Kathleen will receive a $1,000 scholarship and Seacoast School of Technology will receive a free one-year lease of a 3D printer, courtesy of Stratasys, Ltd. ACTE will also provide Kathleen and Samantha Tukey, Recruitment & Retention specialist at Seacoast School of Technology, with a trip to Anaheim to be honored at the awards banquet.

Last year, at Seacoast School of Technology, Kathleen focused her classes on Pre Engineering. Taking this class exposed her to a number of valuable skills she has been able to use to further her passion and future career as an engineer. She has practiced coding and building with VEX Robotics and built several models using different material and CAD. Her class’s study of CAD was primarily through the Autodesk’s program, Inventor. In her exploration of CAD she found how incredibly useful it can be and has become fascinated by its capabilities and uses in the real world, “It saves so much time instead of drawing parts on paper and makes modeling a much easier process. It also makes the parts more understandable as it is possible to turn them and view them from all angles. This aids in better communication and information sharing as more can be seen from a model than a drawing. I really enjoy using CAD programs and creating my own parts. This competition has been a privilege to participate in as it has been a great opportunity to use my new skills.” Kathleen is currently attending the University of New Hampshire and majoring in Computer Science.

“The Student Trophy Design Contest has successfully helped promote over 1500 CTE students across the country through their involvement in the design contest. The contest applicants promote and drive the next generation of American innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers, and more,” said ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson. “Kathleen’s outstanding achievements, and her passion for CTE, are further evidence of the critical role high-quality CTE plays in maintaining and growing America’s role in the global economy. We are so proud of Kathleen and her accomplishments, and we are honored to have her as a public ambassador for all that today’s CTE has to offer.”

Jesse Roitenberg, Stratasys National Education Manager shared his thoughts on the contest over the years, “Stratasys is pleased to partner again with ACTE to create this contest for the students. We love to hear success stories of students like Kathleen who are taking the design skills they learned in high school and going beyond in college.  Career and Technical Education along with Additive Manufacturing and Computer Aided Drafting is helping to build not only trophies but a stronger future.  The trophy entries we have judged over the past four years are expertly designed and showcase the customization that is a hallmark of the additive manufacturing process alone.”

Kathleen, ACTE and Stratasys are available for interviews upon request.

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About ACTE: The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.