Posted: Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Three students from North High School won full tuition to the University of Evansville today during the fourth annual High School Changemaker Challenge.

Ashlyn Thompson, Jaylyn Davis, and Jamie Born came up with an idea for a musical swing set that would serve as a stress reliever and community builder in downtown Evansville. The team researched what it would take to make their idea become a reality and presented to a panel of judges.

Each member of the winning team will receive a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to the University of Evansville. Scholarships will also be awarded to the second, third, and fourth ranked teams per student ($5,000, $2,500, and $1,000 respectively for four years):

Winning teams included:

• 4th place: Castle High School: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Team
• 3rd place: Castle High School: Hope Park Team
• 2nd Place: Bosse High School: Filtering Wetland Park
• 1st Place: North High School: Musical Swing Set

Championship round judges included Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, UE president Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz and other community leaders.

UE's High School Changemaker Challenge is designed to motivate young people to take a leading role in identifying and solving challenges in the world around them through innovation and creativity. High school students are invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of community leaders and compete for scholarships to UE where they can come to get the support needed to make their ideas become a reality.

This year, 18 teams from the following high schools competed: North, Evansville Day School, Heritage Hills, Bosse, New Tech Institute, Forest Park, Signature School, Evansville Christian School, Mater Dei, Castle, Central, Boonville, and Charles A. Tindley Academy.

The High School Changemaker Challenge was made possible this year by the Rotary Club of Evansville. Proceeds from the 2017 Rotary Club Santa Run went to support the Changemaker Challenge. 

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