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Winter Springs High School Students Win Awards
In International Technical Writing Competition

Over the past 8 years, Central Florida High School students have won 105 awards and $6,250 in cash prizes in STC writing competitions.

Three Winter Springs High School students captured awards in the Society for Technical Communication's annual international high school technical writing competition, the STC Orlando Chapter has reported, continuing Central Florida's strong history in the event.

Topping the list was sophomore Andrew First, who won an Excellence Award and $500 for his essay Artificial Muscles: Revolutionary Motors and Power Generators. Andrew’s brother Eric and Andrew Lai, both 11th graders, each earned Honorable Mentions for CAPTCHA: Read This! and Telomerase: The Miracle Elixir for Cancer?, respectively.

In last year’s international competition, Eric First and Andrew Lai won Excellence and Merit awards to earn $500 and $300, respectively. The two captured the first two places in this year’s STC Orlando Chapter's 8th Annual Florida High School Technical Writing Competition, each winning Excellence Awards and $150 while Andrew First and sophomore Robyn Tapley each earned Merit Awards and $75.

In addition, 10th grader Jennifer Lai, Andrew's sister, was one of seven Achievement Award winners (earning $25 apiece) in the Central Florida competition — meaning that both families will be returning next year for what they hope will be a "three-peat."

First place, and $1,000, in this year’s international competition went to a Houston high schooler, as it did last year. Central Florida brought that home in 2001.

Historically, Central Florida students have shown well in the international competition, including a 1-3-5 finish in 2001. Over an 8-year period, they have earned 105 awards and $6,250 in cash prizes from STC for their writing prowess. A complete listing of the award winners, 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 20,000 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.