Local high school wins statewide grant competition

MARQUETTE — Staff and students at Marquette Senior High School are celebrating after being awarded a $25,000 state championship grant package with the possibility of even more to come.

Staff members Becky Simmons and Sara Cambensy applied in The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition. The purpose of this grant is to provide students with the necessary resources to study alternative energy, especially in the U.P. to solve local issues. The first prize received was a Galaxy tab for the classroom, then a video creation package was given to create a video displaying what the students are doing in the project.

Once the video is submitted, the school could have the potential to receive even more funding.

“If our video is chosen as one of the top ten in the nation, we’ll get $50,000 in technology and from those top ten national prized, they’ll choose three that will received $150,000 in technology. Lastly, there is a $20,000 cap for the fan favorite for the social media voting,” said Marquette Senior High School Science Teacher, Becky Simmons.

Simmons added that this grant is about more than just the money but also how the students can change the world through alternative energy.

“This technology helps us get into other fields like this. The final goal if we win the entire process is to get solar panels and that would help us learn how to use them an integrate them into our houses and homes,” said Marquette Senior High School Junior, Brenden Lindgren.

Marquette Senior High School is looking for community members or businesses in the area to help them out with this project.
Anyone interested in exploring alternative energy in Marquette County is asked to contact Marquette Senior High School.