Ok, just a warning…this is a long one. But I promise if you stick around for the
ending of Day 3, you’ll be left with a happy ending…
EAST Conference 2013 - Day 1
EAST Conference 2013…EAST = (Me)^2 or
Me-Squared or Me x Me or whatever you would like to call it. Each year, over 2000 students, 200
facilitators, around 20 EAST staff members, members from the Arkansas
Department of Education, EAST board members, representatives from local Universities,
EAST partners, and major EAST sponsors gather at the Hot Springs Convention
Center to celebrate and showcase the accomplishments of thousands of EAST
students nationwide. To say it is a
science fair on steroids is an understatement and to try to describe the energy
in the exhibit hall would not serve it due justice.
This event is largely hosted and maintained by STUDENT
leadership teams; several document team members, ambassador team members, and
even a well-educated tech team is made of students from ages 10 to 18. They are the driver of this fast paced
race car…the EAST staff provides a location and safety net for these kids, but
the students are largely in charge for the success of this yearly event. It’s amazing to watch so much unfold in less
than 72 hours.
Enough of the introduction…let’s talk about our kids; the
kids of Sonora Elementary.
 |
| EAST at Sonora Elementary has arrived to Hot Springs, Arkansas |
Wake-Up Call
 |
Worthy and Co storming the
McDonalds in Waldron, AR |
Day 1 of Conference started with an early alarm. We met up with Springdale High School's EAST program at 5 am and in
a few short minutes we loaded two display booths, 20 kids, 5 chaperons, several suitcases, a bus driver, and a roll of duct tape. We were on our way to Hot Springs. We stopped in Waldron, AR to grab a bite to
eat and we ran into some fluffy snow flurries.
The kids were quiet; not sure if that was due to nerves or the early
morning rooster call. By 10 o’clock we
had reached our destination and the kids were flabbergasted by the scene; the amount
of kids, the number of school buses, the organized chaos that had been
unfolding since 7 am that morning…EAST Conference 2013 was looming.
 |
| Priorities: Homework or Sleep? |
We were greeted by none other than EAST
Founder himself, Mr. Tim Stephenson.
He’s been in charge of “air traffic control” at this event for many
years and the value of seeing the man that started it all 18 years ago first thing is
priceless for these kids. I've had the
pleasure to have many conversations with Tim the last two years and I cherish
every second; he has a story for every situation and genuinely loves kids. He’s often been teased as the “Grandpa of
EAST”, which is an honest and accurate description…kids are drawn to him,
he lights a fire under the unmotivated, has compassion for the ones in need,
and will celebrate when each child finds success. He claims to be just an ole country boy from
Central Arkansas, but despite the southern drawl and stories of runaway wagons,
exploding welding projects, Mice vs. Mule bouts, and the legendary “Capture the
Moment” tale…he’s actually a very wise and educated man. I encourage any EAST parent or friend of the
program to shake his hand and introduce yourself…you will be rewarded with a warm smile and will be energized by a tireless man of student-education.
We found our booth location, site D of the Founders Circle…this
was an amazing and rare opportunity. As
one of the five Founders Award finalists, we get to set up shop smack dab in
the center of the Exhibit Hall. It’s in
a high traffic area and you are surrounded by 200 other amazing booth displays
and many university booths as well. We
were a little apprehensive because we’re wedged between the likes of Greenbrier
High School (Mr. Stephenson’s founding EAST program and always an AMAZING group
of kids), Dardanelle High School (2011 Founders award winners and consistently
a top 5 program since year one), Harrisburg Middle School (a group of middle school
kids that look harmless but speak like seasoned Bio-Chemical Engineers and are
FULL of energy), and Har-Ber High School (2010 Founders award winners and
cross-town mentors of our very own program… they've been to this stage four
times in the last seven years)…so I ask, how exactly do we fit into this
picture again? Our average age is NINE
and most of us can’t keep our shoes tied!
 |
| Sonora EAST greeting their first booth visitors |
So we got to work by setting up our booth and just tried to
blend in…if we could just make it 3 days, maybe we wouldn’t get recognized as
runny-nosed elementary kids (I kid, I kid!)
I’m pretty sure I pulled a lower back muscle while setting up our pop-up
display, but once I got the 8 foot tall display up (the kids are short…needed a
bit of help), the kids were able to take over.
Posters went up, the iMac video loop was cued, business cards were
displayed, brochures were fanned out for display, and pictures were taken when
we were finished. The “blend in” plan
was immediately broken because within seconds students, teachers,
administrators, and document team members swarmed the five featured booths with
questions, words of encouragement, and smiles.
“Our covers blown…run for the hills” I joked with our chaperones, but to
my surprise our kids did extremely well.
Every year we chose 8 new students to make-up our Conference team…we
want to give as many students this experiences from year to year; this also allows
for new leadership to blossom with the new team each year. Luckily, 2012 Conference veterans Arrington and
Austin made the document team and the ambassador team, so we had some seasoned
eyes on our booth and in the area.
Arrington was off with Jana Wood (EAST Initiative), Calvin Bramlett
(EAST Initiative), and Steven Taylor (SAU Tech Film Instructor) taking pictures
of the event. Austin had an early
leadership team meeting and then was off to set up for the Opening
Plenary. Even with the vets gone, our
current EAST team of Jillian, Braden, Emily L., Summer, Landen, Emily B.,
Rikki, and Jayden were doing extremely well and I started to breathe a little
easier.
Opening Plenary
 |
Rocking the shades at the EAST
Conference Opening Plenary |
At 2, the opening ceremonies were set to begin. Over 2000 students squeezed into the
Convention Center Auditorium and the show began. Many sponsored contests were concluded at this
portion of the conference. Text-in voting
for poster competitions, music production competitions, and more were
conducted. Live results were announced
shortly afterwards and it created a really exciting atmosphere for the students
on stage and in the crowd. Sonora
Elementary even was named the winner of the “Expand Your Horizons” contest
provided by the amazing folks of CAST at the University of Arkansas. We’ll receive two days of training with their
amazing staff and use of some of their innovative technology. I have to say, Dr. Robyn Dennis nailed her
calling with teaching spatial technologies and connecting it students…she’s
great with these kids. Hayley Hames
fools a lot of people with comedic antics and humor…the truth is she’s a
geographical genius and the kids always want to know “Where’s Hayley? Where’s Hayley?” when we show up for Community Mapping
training. And finally Malcolm Williams
could very well be the smartest man alive…Einstein-like. They mesh into the perfect educational team
and I simply cannot wait for our kids to get the opportunity to work with them
again…they really are great people and we’re lucky that they practically live
in our backyard.
 |
| Sonora EAST with CAST's Dr. Robyn Dennis (left) and Hayley Hames (right) |
The ceremony almost took a turn for the worse when President
and CEO of EAST, Mr. Matt Dozier, introduced his EAST = Me^2 slideshow over the
life Albert Einstein. There were
youthful groans from all around the auditorium. Actually, as a former history teacher, I was looking
forward to the presentation that started with “It all began in 1905…”, which
WOULD have probably talked about Einstein’s achievement of PHD from the
University of Zurich…but sadly Matt’s clicker broke, he Keynote presentation encountered
a fatal error, and his MacBook blew up. Bright
lights illuminated the auditorium and dubstep music boomed the speakers. Matt donned on some sunglasses and the EAST
staff came out with beach balls, confetti cannons, and streamers. The entire presentation was rigged and
students were engulfed with a celebration type atmosphere. Truthfully, that’s what Conference is all
about….the celebration processes. It’s
about the celebration of projects, the celebration of community involvement,
the celebration of technology, and the celebration of growing students.
With that the 2013 EAST Conference was alive and in full
force. The kids exited for the
afternoon, while a few remained behind for some very important discussions….the
Overall Founders Award interviews.
The Interview
 |
Austin and Jillian talking with
Mr. Tim Stephenson before their interview |
Luckily enough, I was able to pull Austin away from his
Ambassador Team duties and get him suited up for an important interview. He was joined by Jillian and together they
were going to present the entire story of our EAST program to six very
important people. They practiced this presentation
a multitude of times, constantly making changes and alterations, building an
impressive Prezi design, and even presenting to the school board, our district
principals, and over 600 students from their very own school They were ready.
At exactly 5:45, Mr. Tim Stephenson greeted our kids for the
4th of 5 Founders interviews that afternoon and gave them some very
calming words of wisdom. I sat in the
hallway and waited while the kids were given their opportunity to shine. I have no idea what went on in that room, but
the two kids I sent in there that were a nervous wreck going into the
interview, came out 15 minutes later smiling, laughing, and excited for the
future. Tim came around the corner, gave
me a smile and a thumbs up. The hard
part was officially over and now we’d just have to wait and see who would
receive the prestigious Timothy R. Stephenson EAST Founders award. Regardless
of the outcome, our kids were winners on that interview stage and the smiles I
received were the only justification any of us needed.
 |
Duck Dynasty marathon in the
boy's hotel room |
EAST Fusion is a fun celebration that involves students of
all ages. It is active; it is safe, and it’s
networking for these kids. It’s a chance
for students, facilitators, and EAST staff to let their guard down and
celebrate EAST together. Rarely projects
are discussed at this fun event, but its extremely valuable for the kids
because they are able to celebrate their progress and even meet future EAST
student partners in a unique way. It’s
like the “golf course meeting” in today’s business world…a lot of “business”
gets its start on the golf course. For
these kids, in a way, EAST partnerships can get its start at Fusion. It’s amazing what kids can discuss while
setting up a hilarious Harlem Shake video.
On this night, our kids were exhausted. Jillian and Austin had been put through the
gauntlet and Arrington had stayed late to help take pictures of every single
exhibit booth. They’d been going
non-stop since 4 am and it was now 7:30 pm…Sonora EAST needed some rest, so
EAST Fusion would just have to wait till the following year. We have a early morning on Thursday, so some much needed sleep was in store. And maybe a little Duck Dynasty...
+new+a.jpg)
