Christina Seix Academy “Just DI It” Advances to Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, the Largest Student Celebration of Creativity in the World

        TRENTON, NJ — After achieving third place for creativity, teamwork and innovation in the state of New Jersey, CSA’s Destination Imagination team has earned the right to compete in Global Finals. Taking place on May 23-26 in Knoxville, TN, the Global Finals is the world’s largest celebration of student creativity.  CSA’s Destination Imagination team, named “Just DI It”, includes the following students: Yanelly DeLeon, Serenity Davis, Rey Marshall, Justin Hogue, Vanessa Samayoa, and Arlin Ortiz.

“Just DI It” will compete with other teams in the Improvisational Challenge Treasure, one of seven open-ended challenges that requires students to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, in addition to their talents in improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork, community service and social entrepreneurship.

Reflecting on the experience, CSA fifth grader Justin Hogue stated, “I really like DI because I get to use my brain in a different way than in the classroom. Because of DI, I’m now more open to other people’s ideas, I think creatively to solve problems, and I learned how to work with other people when completing a challenge.”

Talking to CSA’s DI team, it is evident that their experience and subsequent success has had a positive impact on the students. Beaming with pride, CSA fifth grader Yanelly DeLeon said, “I really grew a lot. I used to be shy and nervous to share ideas, both in DI and in school. But now I’m way more confident in sharing my ideas and I like thinking outside of the box.”

This year, more than 150,000 students have participated in Destination Imagination tournaments throughout the U.S. and 30 other countries, in hopes of earning a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.  “Just DI It” is among the 8,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that have advanced to participate in the 2018 Global Finals, an accomplishment our school is incredibly proud of.

Destination Imagination is a leader in project-based learning opportunities that blend STEM education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Its academic challenges are student-directed and are designed to teach children how to think, not what to think. Teams that participate have the opportunity to present their solutions at regional and state tournaments.

Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament, where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation, and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the Affiliate New Jersey Tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the Affiliate Tournaments advance to Global Finals.

“We are incredibly proud of our students for their hard work this year! This is only our second year and it’s outstanding that we are given the opportunity to go to Global Finals to compete at an international level,” said Jenna Brower, Team Manager of “Just DI It”.

For more information about DI and Global Finals, visit http://globalfinals.org/.