GCC sweeps Avnet Tech Games competition
Students take first place and two honorable mentions
By Justin Shepard
Online Editor,
The VOICE
Students from colleges and universities across Arizona put their skills to the test on April 4 in the fourth annual Avnet Tech Games held at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, AZ.
The competition challenged students to develop solutions to solve real world scenarios in the area of technology. Glendale Community College (GCC) entered three groups of students.
Photo courtesy/ Avnet Tech
First place winners (left to right) Paula Cheslik (sponsor), Jerry Lavender, Andrew Lewton and Bryan Witherspoon.
Faculty member Paula Cheslik served as sponsor of the winning team.
As a sponsor, Cheslik facilitated most of the communication between Avnet and the GCC faculty to get the group what they needed in order to practice for the event.
The first GCC group included students; Jerry Lavender, Andrew Lewton, and Bryan Witherspoon.
The other GCC groups in attendance competed in their own individual events.
All participants showcased their passion for technology and their abilities at the event.
Among the contests included in the event were; the Accenture Tech Challenge, the Digital Design Challenge, the Multimedia Fast Break, the Robot Race Obstacle Course and several others.
GCC was strong in the event as one group went on to win first place in the AMD Build and Tune the Fastest Computer Challenge. This required that the group build a computer in the shortest amount of time and also tune the computer to operate the fastest.
Another team from GCC also received an honorable mention in the Digital Design Challenge, which required them to design and construct an electronic device to perform specific things. This group included members; George Cojan, Brian Smith, and Ty Beal.
A Glendale team also took home the Most Creative Entry Award for the Project Greenlight LED Challenge. Here, they had to design and test a solar-powered "green energy" lamp. This team included members; Angel Madrid, Martin Gutierrez, Justin Eastburn, Abraham Gamez, and Thi Chan Le, according to the event website.
GCC participant Andrew Lewton admitted that a lot of effort went into GCC's success in the event.
"Strategy, hard work, preparation, and training", he pointed out.
The group that won the AMD Build and Tune Challenge each won a 1,000 dollar scholarship and students who received honorable mention took home a 500 dollar scholarship.
Please send comments to jshepard@gccvoice.com
