Texas Tech University T-STEM Center
Texas Tech University T-STEM Center
T-STEM Center News Archive 2008 Article

TAME 2008 Middle School Essay and Poster Contest Winners

By Margaret Martinez | July 9, 2008

Fort Worth — Local, West Texas students won top spots at the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) state essay and poster competition.

Miranda Duncan, of Dunbar Middle School in Lubbock, placed second in the annual event. Matthew Gardner, of Dunbar Middle School in Lubbock, placed third. 

The TAME essay and poster contest allows students in grades four through eight to express a theme through illustration or literature, encouraging students with an aptitude for math and science to compete in a different, more artistic way. This year’s theme was “Engineers Make a World of Difference.”

Duncan’s second-place essay described how engineers design and build to improve the quality of life. “Over many years, engineers have made human society livable with transportation advancements, as well as infrastructure developments,” wrote Duncan. “After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was evacuated, but is now being repopulated. Thanks to engineers, the city has been rebuilt and will soon thrive once again. We owe today’s modern progress to engineers.”

Gardner described different types of engineers and what they do. In his third-place entry, he explained how engineers improve life by inventing tools and machines to solve problems. 

“Chemical Engineers study the way atoms and molecules interact as well as react,” wrote Gardner. “Using their knowledge, they create many things, from plastics, to paint, to body wash, and many other things. Without chemical engineers, most things mass-produced that you use every day, wouldn’t exist.”

Founded in 1976, the Texas Association of Minorities in Engineering was created to increase the number of women and minorities in STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - fields. TAME reaches thousands of elementary, middle and high-school students across Texas through events and competitions like the state essay and poster contest and the state math and science competition.

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