Among Coronado’s robust selection of clubs and teams is the Future Problem Solvers Club, which as a team went to Michigan this past June for the International Championship competition of the organization. At the competition, junior Gabrielle Stenholm competed in the individual competition and worked her way to 2nd place overall, meaning second in the world.The Future Problem Solvers individual competition consists of competitors being presented with an issue that is either currently facing the world, or is likely to soon, and writing out a scenario which demonstrates why the issue is a problem, and what steps to take to avoid it. The scenario writing is done in narrative format, and despite being an individual event, is written by teams of 2-4 people who have generally never met before the event. In Gabby’s case, she competed on the problem of disappearing language, and from that one issue divided not only an exposition on the severity of the problem, but also 16 different solutions to the issue. Leading up to her success, Gabby has been a part of Future Problem Solvers for 4 years at Coronado, which meets a few times per quarter in conjunction with Palmer students to face practice scenarios as “sparring matches” in order to prepare for qualifiers in March and International Championships in June. Mrs. Schulzki, the club’s sponsor emphasized Future Problem Solvers’ inclusivity, “All are welcome, even those who are not GT identified,” or people who are overly busy. Gabby says that being a part of the Future Problem Solvers has given her “benefit as a student, developing the mindsets of group work and problem solving skills.”

Students interested in following in Gabby’s footsteps can see Mrs. Schulzki in the north end of the Coronado media center for more information. Congrats Gabby!