Middle schoolers earn 15 awards in city planning competition

Who said city planning was only for adults?  

Two teams made up of Maricopa middle school students in blended-learning programs placed among the top five Saturday in the regional Future Cities competition at Arizona State University. 

Their creations were cities completely powered by green, clean and renewable energy sources set a century from now. 

The Sunsuhan team from Desert Wind Middle School placed second place in the state and Nieuwe Stad from Maricopa Wells Middle School took third.  

This is the second year since the competition returned from a hiatus spurred by the pandemic. Before the competitions were halted, from 2015 to 2020, four Maricopa teams won the competition and advanced to nationals in Washington, D.C.   

In last year’s competition, projects from DWMS and MWMS took home second and fourth, respectively. They won seven total awards in that competition. 

Teams earned more than double last year’s count Saturday. 

“I’ve competed in this competition for many years at Desert Wind and this is the best six teams we’ve ever sent to the competition.” said DWMS teacher Joseph Szoltysik. “I am extremely proud of their hard work, dedication, and performance at the state competition.” 

Four of six DWMS cities earned awards this year: 

Sunsuhan — Second Place, Best Communications System 

Abby Keleman, Dalaini Margerum, Jack McMullen, Maddy Keleman, Sophia Mosca and Warner Adams 

Hanoi — Best Use of Water and Environmental Resources 

Ariana Calderon, Eliam Warner Garcia, Josalyn Morgan, Madelyn Sipin, Makayla Pedro, Mariah Ayers and Sophia Perez 

Amapa — Best Presentation and Best visualization of a Smart Sustainable City 

Ada Garnett, Bradley Hagstrom, Connor Begonja, Elisabeth Oliver, Emerson Baker and Kyle Zielinski 

Lucero — Award of Distinction and Best Sustainable Infrastructure 

Anna Nunoz-Prieto, Chayton St. Clair-Bennett, Grace Michael, Isabella Owens, Peytyn Figueroa and Fatima Ahmed. 

Two of eight cities from MWMS earned awards at the competition: 

Nieuwe Stad — Third place, Most Innovative Design, and Popular Choice 

Kennedy Blackwell, Savannah Gores, Rose Rogers, Phoebe Holmen and Zooey Todachine. 

Dubai — Most Innovative Supply Chain Award. 

Erin Cox, Paityn Bowlin, Paityn Bowlin and Zena Palmer 

“This year has been so exciting for the eight student teams selected to represent Maricopa Wells Middle School at the Arizona Regional Future Cities Competition,” said Maricopa Wells teacher Jackie Hahn. “They worked so hard to bring their innovative city designs to life.”
 

Some students also earned solo awards: 

Connor Begonja, of DWMS’s Amapa group, earned the Everett Greenli Award. 

Fatima Ahmed (DWMS) and Zena Palmer (MWMS) both earned the Rosie Hoff Award. 

Last year, Maricopa parent Laura Prieto-Nunez won “Influencer of the year” after posting a photo with her daughter supporting her team.  

This year, Anna Nunoz Prieto-Nunez of DWMS’s Lucero returned to the competition and won her own solo award for being Project Manager of the Year. 

“All students should be extremely proud of themselves,” Joseph Szoltysik said. “I know I am.”