Last week, Destination Imagination competed and won first place honors in the DI State Tournament at UAH. DI will be competing at the US Global Finals in Knoxville towards the end of May. For those who aren’t familiar with it, Destination Imagination is an organization whose purpose is to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. The annual standard based challenges are in STEM, Improv, Service Learning, Early Learning, and Visual Arts.

Bob Jones High School freshman, Kafui Sakyiaddo, says, “Destination Imagination is really fun, I enjoy getting to hangout with the people on my team. Whenever we have down time, after working on our vehicle or planning a script, we just chill and have pizza. I also enjoy being able to use my creativity and some of my skills in a really useful way. Being a part of this team, I’ve been able to play the ukulele, act, and help write scripts in which I love doing.”

“Destination Imagination (DI) is an extracurricular activity, not a required class, I facilitate the formation of student teams, which are made up of 5-7 students who enjoy creative problem-solving,” stated Robin Dauma, the Bob Jones DI sponsor. Dauma continues, “What I love the most about Destination Imagination is that it is totally about the students’ ideas. No teacher, parent or mentor can give ideas, help solve the challenge, or make any portion of the team’s solution. They must follow a timeline, a budget, and a set of specifications for their presentation and it is incredibly inspiring and exciting to see what teams create each year.”

Bob Jones DI team member Alec Dauma states, “The best part about being involved in Destination Imagination is being able to take part in projects that are far more captivating than those in the average classroom. Being a part of DI has changed the way I look at random objects, especially when they could be utilized to solve whatever problem may arise.”

“Both the Bob Jones teams showed incredible tenacity and commitment this year. The technical challenge was one of the hardest DI has presented in the twenty years I’ve been involved,” says Mrs. Dauma, “and the other two Alabama high school teams who started this challenge never even finished!”

The DI teams are very excited about going to Global Finals May 24-29 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They will be doing lots of fundraising for the trip, including selling shaved ice on Friday’s during 2nd and 4th blocks as well as the senior picnic.