East High team's win sends it to worldwide competition

YOUNGSTOWN

They learned about teamwork and quick thinking, earning them entry in a worldwide competition.

Four East High School students will be traveling later this month to Knoxville, Tenn., to compete in the Global Finals of Destination Imagination.

Seniors Kayla Mitchell and Tyaonnia Fox-Davis and sophomores Devon Culver and Donna Bennett earned that berth based on their performance at the regional and state Destination Imagination events.

Their skit in the community outreach category focused on bullying and employed a jingle, a rap and puppets.

“Be a buddy not a bully. Take a stand join our hands,” the jingle chants.

The category requires students to identify a community need and develop a plan to address it. Leading up to the previous competitions, the team invited students and community members to participate in an event making T-shirts, keychains, bracelets and lanyards, bearing a anti-bullying message. All of that work was part of the entry that won second place in the state tournament.

“When we heard third place, we thought we didn’t make it,” Donna said.

Then the announcer called their team number for second place.

Kayla said team members were so tired from working so hard the night before that the significance of their accomplishment didn’t sink in.

“The next day, after we got more sleep, then we were excited and celebrated,” she said.

Jeanne Constantino, an East High teacher and the DI adviser, attributes the team’s success to its openness to change. If adjustments had to be made — even at the last minute — the teammates rose to the challenge.

Read more about their recipe for success in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.