Governor Rauner joins University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Teen Innovators from across the State
5/7/2015
Twenty Illinois high school students will be honored by the University of Illinois and Governor Bruce Rauner on Friday, May 8. They are being recognized for their aspirations to change the world, solve major social problems, create great new products, and push the boundaries of our organizations and communities. The first annual “Celebrating High School Innovators” will give them the chance to meet with other young leaders and highly innovative professionals, discuss their ideas, and learn about resources available to them.
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A junior in high school who founded and runs a home décor company that provides work for those who face neurological and physical challenges.
A student who spends summers conducting Cerebral Palsy research. Another who spends weekends studying a condition that prevents sufferers from properly breaking down amino acids in the food they eat.
A young YouTube entrepreneur with more than 350,000 subscribers. A fashion designer. A poet. A filmmaker.
Twenty Illinois high school students will be honored by the University of Illinois and Governor Bruce Rauner on Friday, May 8. They are being recognized for their aspirations to change the world, solve major social problems, create great new products, and push the boundaries of our organizations and communities. (See the a full list of these student innovators.)
The first annual “Celebrating High School Innovators” will give them the chance to meet with other young leaders and highly innovative professionals, discuss their ideas, and learn about resources available to them.
“Innovation is critical to the future of Illinois, and we need more people like these exceptional students in every field. These students remind us of what can be accomplished with a good idea and a firm commitment. Their ideas will help shape the world around them, and I look forward to what else they’ll do in the coming years,” Governor Rauner said.
On Saturday, May 9, the University will also host the students, presenting workshops on topics like leadership, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
“Education is important, but so is motivation, creativity, and tenacity,” said Ray Price, an engineering professor at Illinois and co-director of the Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education. He launched the Celebration of High School Innovators with Paul Ritter, a biology, ecology, and earth science teacher at Pontiac Township High School.
“These students are some of the state’s shining examples of these traits. The work they’ve done already is amazing, and the promise they hold is more amazing still,” Price said.
Anyone Illinois student in the 9th to 12th grade is eligible for “Celebrating High School Innovators.” Applicants describe the innovative ideas they’ve implemented in their communities and why they are important. They submit in one of five areas: arts, media, and literature; business entrepreneurship; food, health, and nutrition; social entrepreneurship; and science, technology, engineering and math.
Applications for the next “Celebrating High School Innovators” awards will open in the Fall of 2015. More information is available at: http://innovative100.engineering.illinois.edu