Destination ImagiNation team advances to global competition

Destination ImagiNation's (DI) Texas State Tournament was held April 14 in Corpus Christi. There, a Lewisville ISD (LISD) team placed fourth out of 18 teams in their challenge, which earned them a trip to Knoxville, Tenn. for the upcoming Global Finals Tournament May 23-26.

The team, called the "Roy G. Bivletts," (RGB) is made up of Lewisville High School junior Shanelle Roberts, Flower Mound High School (FMHS) juniors Elise McCarthy, Miranda Smithey, Mikaila Lapinski, and Christine Henry, Marcus High School freshman Natalie Hess and home school student Aubrey Seaton. They are guided by volunteer team managers Sorrell McCarthy and Greg Owens.

"I love this program, for everything it does for the kids and how it teaches them so much from teamwork, to creative problem-solving, to perseverance, to just plain, ordinary hard work," McCarthy said. "They (the students) also form life-long friendships in this program. It is hard at times, but so worth it."

To compete in DI, teams must choose a challenge and then create and perform an original solution. To become one of the best in Texas, RGB chose "Challenge C" and began work on their solution in September. This challenge focuses on the performing and visual arts and, according to DI's website, requires teams to present a movie trailer involving characters from at least two nations design a cinematic special effect and feature it in the trailer and create an original soundtrack that complements the trailer.

In February, RGB's efforts paid off and the team qualified for the state tournament. Since then, they have worked and practiced upwards of 20 hours a week on their challenge solution in preparation for state with the goal of advancing to the global level. They are the first high school team in LISD history to advance to the Global Finals in "Challenge C."

In their award-winning solution, RGB delivers a captivating performance that met all the challenge's requirements through a fantastic tale of time travel, adventure and cultural awareness in the required four-minute time limit. In compliance with the competition's rules, the students had no outside assistance from adults. McCarthy and Owens were only allowed to facilitate and oversee the team as they worked to solve the challenge. Everything that goes into their solution is made, written, produced, built, etc. by the team members.

"Our job is to make sure the team has everything they need, to ask questions, help them figure out solutions to problems, organize trips to tournament, coordinate with parents, make schedules and to give up our homes and garages for about eight months out of the year," McCarthy said with a smile. "The majority of the team members have worked together for nine years to achieve this goal. I'm so proud of them!"

McCarthy has volunteered to be a DI Team Manager since 2003. She was joined by Owens, an adult who participated in DI for 13 years as a student, this year.

While LISD supports some of the team's expenses, parents and team managers take on a large portion on the cost.

"It will cost a lot to get the team and the team managers to Tennessee, along with all of their props and sets," McCarthy said.

For information contact McCarthy at sorrellidill@verizon.net.

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