KNOWLEDGE
Local Students Take Top Honors in International Creativity Competition Paul Duke STEM HS Odyssey of the Mind team beat out much of the competition at the World Finals in Iowa.
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group of seven talented and determined young ladies from Peachtree Corners returned home triumphant after setting off in late May to conquer the world in a compe-
tition that requires creativity, wit, spontaneity and a whole lot of courage. The Paul Duke STEM High School Odyssey of the Mind team recently took second place overall in their division in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. They came in first place for their long performance skit. “Being at World Finals was an incredible experience. Since we
By Arlinda Smith Broady
Photos by George Hunter
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Peachtree Corners Magazine ■ June/July 2022 ■ LivingInPeachtreeCorners.com
were competing at the high school level with such a young team (six freshmen and one 7th grader), our goal was to try and place in the top 10, which we knew would be a feat,” said Coach Lisa Dommert. “Placing second overall and first in the skit was amazing!” Although she presented this as a “fun fact,” Coach Dommert said the Paul Duke team received the highest score for skit amongst all problems / divisions at World Finals since Odyssey first started publishing scores in 2006. The girls scored 194 out of a possible 200. These students competed against youth from as far away as Europe and South America. This was the fifth year in a row for the team
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Left, the Paul Duke STEM HS Odyssey of the Mind team on stage taking their trophy from this year’s finals. (Photo courtesy of the team) Above, Top row: Emma Betteridge, 14, freshman at Paul Duke, Sophia Dommert, 13, 7-grader at Pinckneyville MS, Molly Ellner, 14, freshman at Norcross HS, Claire Ott, 15, freshman at Paul Duke, Elisa Banks, 14, freshman at Paul Duke. Bottom row: Addie Ebert, 15, freshman at Paul Duke and Kyle Dommert, 15, freshman at Norcross High. (Photo courtesy of the team)
