West Minico Middle School advances to national finals of Samsung STEM contest

PAUL, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A little over a month ago we told you about a state winner of a national competition coming from West Minico Middle School, well, that group has surpassed the top 50 and are now in the top 10 as a national finalist.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM Competition is a way for middle schoolers to tackle an issue in their community, and for West Minico that choice was mental health and suicide prevention via their creations known as “hope notes dispensers.”

The committee from Samsung heard the group’s virtual pitch over Zoom last month and they liked it enough to move West Minico into the national finalist category which netted the school $50,000 in addition to the $12,000 they earned for being a state winner.

Now, the group gets the chance to win one of the three national grand prizes worth $100,000 in Samsung technology and school supplies. And it’s only fitting that the stage gets a little bigger.

“They are sending the students and I to Washington D.C. and they’re super nervous for this side of it because this is where the big pressure is, but they have all worked super hard they’re all very dedicated and I think they’re going to do fantastic,” said Brandi Milliron, the STEM teacher at West Minico who has overseen this process.

“I’m excited for them. The teachers cannot be a part of the pitch at all so it’s the three students who are going to do their pitch.”

The group sets out for the national finals in less than two weeks, and it is every team members’ first trip to the nation’s capital.

The team will return in early May and KMVT wishes them the best of luck!