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Seminole County Schools Make Strong Showing

Society for Technical Communication Honors Local Students for Excellence in Tech Writing

Over the past 10 years, Central Florida High School students have won 129 awards and $8,825 in cash prizes in STC writing competitions.

The Orlando Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) will honor 18 Central Florida high school students for excellence in technical writing at its annual awards banquet April 25 at the Winter Park Civic Center.

The students authored top papers in the Tenth Annual Florida High School Technical Writing Competition, which drew 49 entries. Winter Springs and Lake Brantley High Schools dominated this year's competition, gathering 15 of the 18 awards, with Apopka High School capturing the remaining three.

Awards were offered in five categories: Distinguished ($250), Excellence ($150), Merit ($75), Achievement ($25), and Honorable Mention (certificate). Judging was done by 15 STC members representing a cross section of the technical communicators in Central Florida and at the University of Central Florida. All entrants received comprehensive feedback on their writing.

Exceeding his 2004-05 performance, Winter Springs senior Andrew First topped the field, winning a Distinguished award. First's essay this year was entitled Fighting Spam. Winter Springs junior David Thompson won an Excellence award for Managed Growth in Response to Suburban Sprawl: Merits, Negatives, and Potential Solutions, and Winter Springs sophomore Adrian Chase won a Merit award for The Resistance from Microscopic Rebels: The Invisible Assassins.

These top three papers will go on for further judging in the STC international high school technical writing competition, to be conducted this spring. Historically, Central Florida students have performed well at the next level, with Andrew First topping the field in last year's 1-3-4 finish.

Ten Achievement awards were harvested by Nicole de Paz, Lauren Kramer, Jenna Nikles, and Alexandra Pedicone (Winter Springs); Alexander Horton, Christopher Johnston, Heather Lindsey, and Suzanne Olvey (Lake Brantley); and Theodore Lepak and Jordan Sasscer (Apopka).

Five Honorable Mentions was awarded to Jamie Fromm, Rebecca Higley, and Sonja Shoemaker (Lake Brantley); David Margolies (Winter Springs); and Kevin Martin (Apopka).

Faculty sponsors of the award winners included two Winter Springs instructors (Dr. Maureen Warner and Mrs. Kay Miraglia), Dr. Susan Behel of Lake Brantley, and Mr. Kenneth Bowles of Apopka.

Over the 10-year life of the competition, Central Florida high school students have earned 129 awards and $8,825 in cash prizes from STC for their writing prowess. A complete listing of the award winners since the contest’s inception in 1996, including the titles of their essays, is available at http://www.stc-orlando.org/education/highsch/allhsawards.asp.

The Society for Technical Communication is the world's largest professional organization in its field with over 18,000 members in 152 chapters worldwide. STC members work as technical writers, editors, illustrators, managers, educators, translators, and other communicators who make technical information understandable and available to those who need it. Information about STC can be found at its website at www.stc.org. Information about the Orlando Chapter is available on its website at www.stc.org.