Recently, a group of Westside students were invited to Ames, Iowa for community problem solving internationals, which take place June 12.

This group of high schoolers are in the Future Problem Solving Club at Westside. The team that worked on the community problem solving packet were juniors Aren Rendell, Tim Graves, Max Slosburg, Cyrus Khandalavala and Michaela Mapes.

Along with this team, other students helped to carry out the plan. These students included juniors Kelsey Coziahr, Blair Coziahr, Shaket Chaudhary, Oleg Biletsky and Luke Schrager.

At the beginning of the year the students were required to decide on a problem they found in the community. Throughout the year, they worked on finding solutions.

The specific problem that the Westside team picked this year was dealing with distracted driving with a focus on texting and driving.

To complete the packet, Mapes said that the students are required to identify the challenges, com up with a main challenge, brainstorm solutions, identify which one is the best solution and then follow through on the action plan. Part of the team’s action plan was bringing a texting and driving simulator to Westside.

The team found out it had won the state community problem solving competition in early April.

“When we found out yesterday we were very surprised,” Mapes said. “Nobody in the club thought we would win.”

Because of cost and other factors, the club decided not to go to the community problem solving internationals, but the club members were still honored to have been selected as the state winner.