Michigan by Halee

Michigan by Halee - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

A school accomplishment I’m most proud of is being a part of a championship Odyssey of the Mind team. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. (odysseyofthemind.com)
The process of winning a competition is pretty complex and involves a lot of teamwork. First, we meet as a team and pick a problem from a list of given topics. Next, we talk about our strengths and weaknesses as a team as well as personally and discuss possible topics. After brainstorming ideas for each topic, we settle on one and pick a theme. The process of writing a story involving our general ideas is next. This is a part of the process that I feel I am good at. I am proud that I can come up with creative ideas and work as a team member. The fun part of turning our story into a script is next. After that is done, we break up into small groups and start building and creating our costumes and props. After lots of practice, we compete with other teams from around the state and world.
For the last three years, I have been a member of one of our high school teams. We have qualified for world competition the last two years. Last year, my team was ranked 1st in the state. This makes me proud because Odyssey of the mind has helped me to grow as a person and as a team member. It pushes me to think outside of the box and to get out of my own comfort zone. It has developed my creativity and helped me to learn the lifelong skill of working with others to solve problems. We are a diverse group and I am proud that I have been a part of this organization. I can honestly say what I have accomplished with my OM team is one of the highlights of high school.