Center for Creative Solutions, Inc. Announces A. K. Smith Career Center Creativity Scholarships and Student Innovation Awards

Once again, area students proved that creativity and innovation are well and alive in Northwest Indiana. During World Creativity & Innovation Week, the Center for Creative Solutions publicly honored them for their creative projects and products, academic performance, and ‘can do’ attitudes.

Tej Ram Gupta scholarships went to three A. K. Smith Career Center students, Lily Wulff, Madelyn Wellensiek, and Anyla Lemons, all culinary arts seniors. Dr. Rakish and Bina Gupta and the B. R. Foundation of Michigan City have funded the scholarships. The awards are named after Bina Gupta’s father, Tej Ram Gupta, who emphasized the importance of education during his lifetime, said Board member, Dale Cooper, at the week’s Community Kick-off Breakfast.

In addition, Pat Lain, Board President of the Center for Creative Solutions, presented Student Innovation Awards, funded by the Morgan Family Foundation. Sixth-grader, Bailey Cook, was recognized for her crochet projects.

Introducing her, Lain noted: “Bailey displayed very clearly the innovative process. Get inspired—wanting to help others in her community and to spend time with her great grandmother — Crochet! Learn basics — her great grandmother taught her to make granny squares. Expand/Research — she learned new stitches and how to follow patterns. Create— then she began designing her own patterns and projects. Bailey then shared her baby hats with parents of newborns and “worry worms” to those in the community who were anxious. Finally, Bailey built a strong bond with her great grandmother.”

Lain also congratulated 11th-graders, Ella Hefner and Ahna Zick, and 12th-graders, Alexa Latta and Madelynn Wellensiek, for their creativity in the culinary arts. The students applied creativity in tweaking recipes to represent an Irish Feast celebrating St Patrick’s Day, Lain said. On behalf of all winners at the A. K. Smith Career Center, Chef Nipple accepted a donation to the Culinary Academy for future projects.

The Center for Creative Solutions recognized Michigan City Barker Middle School students for their STEM projects. Winners from the 7th grade were Owen Koester, Emanuel Martinez, London Stupar, Malachi Weber, Benjamin Romero-Bahena, Oliver Edwards, and Edward Gamez.

Lain also honored were Barker Middle School 8th-graders, Sofia Sanchez, My’Asia Walker, Ryder Dombkowski, Cameron Seiler, and Trenton Vittatoe, for their innovative STEM projects. On their behalf, STEM teacher, Amy Hamann, accepted a monetary contribution to the Barker Middle School STEM program.

“The student engineers at Barker Middle School were nominated for their successful participation in contests where they worked in teams to shoot gummy bears into space and to build paper towers that could support a 15-oz can of food. There were also students recognized for their individual original designs of Christmas ornaments, produced using CAD software and a 3-D printer,” explained Lain.

The Center for Creative Solutions is sponsor of Northwest Indiana's World Creativity & Innovation Week for the last 16 years. Joining it are community partners, the La Porte County Convention & Visitors Center; Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest Indiana, Sinai Temple, The Nest, Westville Public Library, Art on the Air on Lakeshore Public Radio, and WIMS Radio.

The week’s celebration is made possible in part by the generosity of the Bethany Church Foundation of La Porte; the Renaissance Group; the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; Morgan Family Foundation; B. R. Foundation; and Family Express Corporation.

The Center is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging a culture of innovation in Northwest Indiana. It offers creativity events and workshops. For more information, go to the CenterforCreativeSolutions.com, send an email to creativity52@comcast.net, or telephone 219-326-7259.