It's 'Destination Qatar' for students competing in international D.I. tourney

NORTON SHORES, MI – Two middle school students are embarking on a trip of a lifetime Sunday when they take off for Qatar to compete in a Destination Imagination competition.

Kennedy Schulist and Miah Lipps, both eighth-graders at Mona Shores Middle School, will travel with two chaperones to Doha, Qatar, in the Persian Gulf region. Theirs is one of two American teams competing in the Qatar Destination Imagination tournament; the other is from Minnesota, said Alexis DeCatur, the girls' D.I. team manager.

They will join teams from around the globe, including Turkey, Korea, Poland and China, for the competition in which teams develop creative solutions to complex challenges, using theatrical performance, engineering, design and other approaches.

The girls' team quickly jumped at the chance to compete when a notice of the opportunity was issued by the Michigan Destination Imagination group, DeCatur said. They also got busy with fundraising. Of the five members of the Mona Shores Middle School team, only Kennedy and Miah were able to go on the trip, DeCatur said.

"It's a great educational experience, great cultural experience for the team," she said, adding that the girls have done a lot of research on the country's culture and customs.

The girls fly out on Sunday, and will return Feb. 29.

They will compete in the competition's Project Outreach challenge. The challenge requires teams to identify a community need and address it, representing their actions through a live presentation that includes skits and props.

The Mona Shores team chose to help West Michigan Teen Challenge, a faith-based residential counseling program in Norton Shores that helps young people struggling with such issues as substance abuse. DeCatur said the girls held a spaghetti dinner, sold poinsettias and held other fundraisers to pay for new windows and bunk beds for the Teen Challenge facility.

DeCatur and the director of Michigan Destination Imagination will serve as chaperones for the girls on their trip to Qatar.

Lynn Moore is a reporter for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at lmoore8@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: It's 'Destination Qatar' for students competing in international D.I. tourney