RTMS Students Design “The Lighthouse” for the Poor and Homeless!

RTMS Students Aarav Gupta, Randall Sinckler, Askansh Yerpude, Nikita Rao, and Archana Pateria won Best Overall Design for a middle school Lighthouse at the Bright Spark Design Thinking Competition, a first for Fulton County. Their sponsor and teacher, Ms. Marwa Crisp, couldn’t be prouder of their dedication, creativity, and hard work. Starting from pencil drawings and gluing Legos on a board, to creating a 3-D computer model, these talented students redesigned an existing facility to help low-income and homeless citizens, in and around Atlanta, to access high quality continuum care. Students did not stop there. They interviewed community leaders such as Edward “Jack” Hardin, Chairman of the Board of the Gateway Center and Co-Chair of United Way Regional Commission on Homelessness. They also met with United Way’s Mr. Protip Biswas, Executive Director of Regional Commission on Homelessness, to get his feedback on their design’s feasibility and sustainability. After getting a “thumbs up” on their innovative design and model, the students showcased their design and models to industry leaders from Coca-Cola, United Way, and Shaw Industries at the competition in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on March 8.

These forward-thinking students were the first in Fulton County to win. The judges were impressed with many areas of their project including thoroughness,feasibility, community outreach, and design. RTMS students won a trophy and $200. They’ll be donating their proceeds to Gateway, the homeless facility that inspired their design.