Gorham Middle High School among finalists in national STEM competition

On Dec. 15, Samsung Electronics America announced that 300 public schools across the country have been named state finalists in the 13th annual Samsung “Solve for Tomorrow” national competition.

The five New Hampshire schools were selected from more than 1,000 entrants, and each school won a package of $2,500 in technology and school supplies.

The other four New Hampshire schools advancing to the next round of competition Londonderry Senior High School; Elm Street Middle School, Nashua; Nashua High School South; and Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook.

For the next round in the competition, teachers and students at each state finalist school across the country will submit lesson plans detailing how their proposed STEM project will address the identified community issue.

Based on those plans, 50 state winners will be chosen to receive a prize of $20,000 in technology and supplies and advance to the next phase of the competition culminating in three schools being selected in May to receive $100,000 prize packages. 

The annual “Solve for Tomorrow” competition challenges public school students in grades 6-12 to explore the role science, technology, engineering, and math (the core STEM subjects) can play in addressing some of the biggest issues in their communities.

The competition is designed to engage students in active, hands-on learning that can be applied to real-world problems — making STEM more tangible and showcasing its value beyond the classroom.

“As a company and as individuals, STEM is incredibly important to Samsung. We depend on STEM-savvy people to envision, implement, and engage with innovative STEM-dependent products and services,” said Michelle Crossan-Matos, chief marketing, citizenship and communications officer, Samsung Electronics America. “Between 2019 and 2029, the number of STEM jobs is predicted to grow 8 percent, a higher rate than non-STEM jobs. But while STEM skills are key to a 21st-century workforce, we know that national test scores in STEM subjects like Math have fallen by the largest margin in 30+ years. Solve for Tomorrow was designed to provide schools and teachers with an innovative, problem-based learning approach to STEM education and to boost student interest, proficiency, and diversity in STEM.”

Ann Woo, senior director, corporate citizenship, Samsung Electronics America, noted several significant trends in the program proposals submitted this fall “A common theme this year is ‘connecting’ — whether that’s connecting people to people, peer to peer, across generations, or even around the globe. In fact, one school’s entry is based on its connection with a school in Ukraine — proposing a solution for providing solar power to students in a war-ravaged community. Climate change, school/student safety, and mental health are other top issues of concern for this year’s problem-solvers.”

More information on the competition and competition phases is also available at samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow.