For Your Students

Following are application dates for student contests, scholarships, and

internships. Asterisks (*) denote new entries.

*February 28 ENGINEERING

The West Point Bicentennial Engineering Design Contest encourages students to create structurally accurate bridges online. The Internet-based contest, sponsored by the U.S. Military Academy and the American Society of Civil Engineers, is open to all K-12 students, who compete individually or in teams of two. Participants design actual highway bridges that pass a simulated load test at minimum cost using the West Point Bridge Designer software. The top 10 teams in each of four regional zones advance to the semifinals, where they download a new project and have three hours to develop a design. The best team from each zone plus the top two teams overall travel to West Point in April for the final competition. Each member of the top three teams from the final round receives a cash scholarship, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, and a notebook computer. For more information, contact the contest coordinator at wpbedc@usma.edu or visit bridgecontest.usma.edu.

*February 28 ESSAYS

Optimist International invites high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12 from all over North America and the Caribbean to write short essays that address the issue “my place in a changing world.” Optimist Clubs send local winners to district contests to compete for a $650 scholarship. District winners also participate in the international essay contest, which awards scholarships worth $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000 to first-, second-, and third-place winners, respectively. In addition to the scholarship, the first-place international winner receives an expenses-paid trip with his or her parents to the annual Optimist International convention. For more information, contact: Optimist International, 4494 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108; (800) 500-8130, ext. 224; e-mail programs@optimist.org ; www.optimist.org .