Jennifer Gray, ThinkQuest Three-Time Award Winner "ThinkQuest
helped me get into the college of my choice, start my own business and touch others with
my creations. It also boosted my self confidence and made me realize I have talents - I
have something to contribute."
- Jennifer Gray, Lebanon, NH ThinkQuest Participant 1996, 1997, 1998 Web sites:
Runner's Oasis, CyberCycle, The Living Africa At the age of 19, Jennifer Gray already has
a hyphenated title: Web designer - graphic artist - college student - entrepreneur.
Three years ago, as a high school sophomore, Jennifer had already developed a
rudimentary Web site but she was hungry to learn more about what was then a budding
environment for so-called techies -- the Internet. Her high school librarian shared
information about the ThinkQuest Internet challenge and Jennifer was hooked. She found two
teammates on an online forum from New Hampshire and New York and over the next seven
months the threesome worked via email to build Runner's Oasis, a site about running
techniques, nutrition and more for high school students. Jennifer was the only team member
who knew html.
She taught this technology to her teammates through online tutorials and they all
collaborated on researching and writing. Their hard work paid off when the team won first
place in the Sports category and each student was awarded a $15,000 scholarship.
ThinkQuest was now a part of life for Jennifer and she entered the contest for a second
year with high expectations. As an athlete, she was excited about developing another
sports site, CyberCycle. Jennifer was also becoming busy with her new life as a young Web
designer. After local businesses heard about her ThinkQuest win, they contacted her to
design their Web sites. She has worked on everything from medical sites to a furniture
store to a tuxedo shop.
Although she was busy with these projects, she still found time to complete CyberCycle
and she and her teammates took home the third place prize in the Sports and Fitness
category, adding $9,000 to her growing scholarship fund.
Perhaps Jennifer's most rewarding ThinkQuest experience was the third year when she
collaborated with teammates from around the world including the Ivory Coast and the
Netherlands to create The Living Africa. This site was designed to give people of all ages
a new perspective about the continent and all that it has to offer. Jennifer often set her
alarm for 5:00 a.m. to virtually chat with her teammates who lived many time zones away.
Together they were able to use their vast cultural differences and unique perspectives to
complete this detailed and content-rich site over the course of eight months. The last
month included many 20-hour days to make sure they met the deadline. Jennifer walked away
with yet another prize - 2nd place in the Interdisciplinary category and $12,000 for a
total of $36,000 in scholarship money from the program. Better yet, she has received
numerous emails that the site is being used by teachers to share the wonder of Africa with
their students.
Next year Jennifer will begin her sophomore year at the Rochester Institute of
Technology where she is majoring in graphic design. While she is no longer eligible to be
a ThinkQuest participant, she is still part of the organization as an on-site intern. This
summer Jennifer is designing ThinkQuest's new home page.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Conference UpdateWhat is the future of technology? How will it
effect education? Join us at the ThinkQuest Conference '99 in November to find out. You'll
meet the people who are designing the tomorrow's technologies and those who are guiding
their impact on teaching and learning. And you'll join the ThinkQuest finalists as they
celebrate and share their successful web sites. Among the sessions are: Interactive
Learning Spaces Online: New Internet capacity will give students unlimited creative
opportunities. See the tools for the future online - constructions sets, meeting spaces,
avatar conferences, and other multi-user opportunities - and find out how students will
learn in online environments. The Convergence of Digital Technologies and the Implications
for Education: The Internet, cable, phones, broadcast TV, even print technologies are
converging into all digital all the time. What does the future hold for converging
technologies and what are the implications for education? A panel of experts involved in
both the technology and educational sides of this issue will describe their companies'
plans and how education can benefit. Techquity: The Technology Gap and What We are Doing
About It: The digital divide is growing; the gap between the haves and have-nots is
increasing - among Americans and around the world. But there's hope. On this panel you'll
meet people who are successfully addressing the issue of technology access and equality of
opportunity in low-income communities and emerging nations.
There's lots more happening at the conference. Check the web site (http://www.thinkquest.org/conference) for
more information and to sign up today. Spaces are limited.
ThinkQuest Teams in the News:Congratulations to team 5135, "Creatures of the
Night and You" and team 5002, "Do We Really Know Dewey?" ThinkQuest Junior
1999 award winners who scored A+ on the education World Awards! Check out these and other
great kid's sites at:
http://www.education-world.com/awards/
1997 team, "Learn Physics Today!" has been named one of the Top 100
Educational Web Sites of 1999, by The Education Source. See this site at: http://www.thinkquest.org/library/10796.html
http://www.surfnetkids.com/ featured
"Yo, It's Time for Braces", team 5029, as the Reader Pick of the Week (week of
July 5, 1999). Congratulations!
Teams in the News Special: The American Academy of AchievementOn June 17-29, 1999,
the American Academy of Achievement hosted it's 38th annual Achievement Summit in
Washington D.C. Celebrities, Nobel Prize winners, authors, artists and many others who
were chosen by the Academy as representatives of "Those Who Excel" were brought
together to be honored and share with today's youth their ideas about better tomorrows.
Four hundred students from around the country were chosen to attend based on academic
recommendation from their school, community or academic contest.
Three ThinkQuest student team members were selected to attend this important event.
Three-time Award Winners Jennifer Gray, Andrew Holbrook and Kushal Dave were recommended
by Advanced Network & Services for their outstanding achievement in the ThinkQuest
Competition. Andrew Holbrook was among ten students chosen to receive the Golden Eagle
Award. Congratulations to these dedicated and outstanding students!
