By Joe Moore:

I was very pleased when my son Thomas got involved with the Hyperloop Club at Conant High School. A group of students with different skill sets and abilities came together to tackle the challenge of creating a presentation. The experience with the support of the school, family and friends developed problem-solving, project management, research, development and communication skills. It was an unbelievable experience to watch this group explain their solutions to experts in the field, journalist, members of Space X, Tesla and University professors. The group effort not only

created great memories, contacts with others from around the world, but also the only High School group to win an award at a college level competition. It was also amazing to see the programs and individuals that have worked hard on a variety of projects in Illinois at the Celebrating High School Innovators presentations. As a parent, the CHSI experience was a capstone to all the work and effort they had put into their project. CHSI helped to encourage all of the presenters and give them the outlet and support to reach beyond high school. CHSI allowed students and faculty to expand past the normal high school experience and learn that self-motivation, ingenuity and hard work can pay off. The knowledge gained through this experience not only helps them be better students but also better individual