High school students from across the state display their work at MITES competition at CMU
Students from all over the state gathered last week for the annual Michigan Industrial Technology Education Society competition (MITES), held in the Indoor Athletic Complex here at Central Michigan University.
The competition was open to many different areas of industrial technology that is offered at middle and high school level classrooms. Ranging in age from 6th grade all the way up to 12th, participants were able to show off what they have been working on in their various industrial technology courses offered at their schools. For five days, students were able to give presentations on their work, view their peers’ work, and, overall, gain a better understanding of the technological conveniences available today.
The students traveled from all corners of Michigan with their teachers for the event, which is the biggest and most prestigious technology competition in Michigan. This year there were over 4,000 featured projects, in over 25 different categories. Categories such as: woodwork, carpentry, architectural design, media design, and even welding were among the many to be rigorously judged and commented on by a panel of over 120 judges, each qualified in a different field of expertise.
Over the five-day span of the competition, each of the student-made projects were given a first through eighth place, depending on how many projects were turned in for each category. This too, differed among the competition. While some categories might have had up to 30 entries, others were much scarcer, sometimes garnering three or less projects to judge.
“This year, what was unique, is we had ‘Hands-On Friday’,” says MITES President and assistant engineering professor Dr. Alan Papendick. “We had to have something for the kids to do after simply looking at the other projects.”
Hands-On Friday consisted of active Marines coming in to talk with students about how their skills in industrial technology could benefit immensely in the Marines. Students were also able to physically turn pens on a lathe to send over to the troops abroad. The lathe used was then raffled off to students who chose to enter into the raffle.
“We didn’t want the kids to be spending most of their day sitting in the stands with nothing to do,” Papendick said.
While there were only 4,000 projects entered, they came with the help of over 8,000 students, each contributing equally to the success of their entry. Families and friends were gathered around the projects, taking pictures, showing pride, and creating a warm, welcoming environment for a friendly competition, for almost every project either had a placing ribbon or a ribbon of “honorable mention.”
“Next year, I hope it’s even bigger than this,” said Millington sophomore and MITES contestant Ryan Aimes. “I really want more of my friends to get involved with it.”
With no plans of stopping, and, already celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, the MITES competition was a huge success and garnered exactly the results it was destined for: to promote higher education and enhance the minds of the students competing.
