National Trig-Star Winners

Congrats to all 3!

Does anyone care to speculate whether any of the Trig-Star winners have ever actually become surveyors? :>

It doesn't matter. Congrats to the winners...
most likely they may become geomaticians or such.
But hey are probably math wizards who may become scientists, actuarys or professor etc.
With the economy tight and major cut backs in education with rising tuition costs, families will look at all avenues for scholarship mone=ies

It is basically a promotional activity for the society and for surveyors in general for kids with math skills.

But they should really get some corporate sponsorship from esri, autodesk or trimble or some foundation grants and raise up high the price money for scholarships and maybe get some well known good looking female celebrity who is not an airhead to moderate the finals.

> It doesn't matter.
>
> It is basically a promotional activity for the society and for surveyors in general for kids with math skills...

Okay, so it isn't actually intended to improve the surveying profession, just make it look as if it is happening? So many pithy Anglo-Saxon words, so little time.

I did an edit.
On the local level here, it brings surveyors in contact with the community through the schools and competition.
It does take some time for the test to be set-up.

Surveyors will also do a little "dog and pony ' show for students at schools in conjunction with the tests.

I know a few years ago for the state level here that there was a surveyor's son who made the finals. There was a discussion about the problems that might incur with the public perception if he won .
Y'know like those contests where you can't enter if you have a family member working for the sponsor etc.

Okay, so it promotes the profession by letting members of the public know that surveyors like trigonometry? Wouldn't advertising on Craigslist be cheaper and reach a wider audience? You know, "land surveyor seeking trigonometry for fun and possible longer-term relationship", that sort of thing?

Just to repeat
It does provide some good will locally on a very small level by the surveying community or by some of it's members.
There have been a couple of surveyors here who have donated time and a considerable amount of money to Trig-star completely on their own initiative.
They have matched the state society dollar amount to local winners.

Plus primarily, it provides some scholarship monies to aid tuition coasts.

It would be nice to see a profile of the winners and hear what their future plans wil be.
.

The value of programs like Trig-Star and Math*Counts have far more worth than just to promote our chosen profession. They inspire and help kids strive for excellence in the field of mathematics. This manifests itself by allowing young people to use initiative to expand their learning. While surely, both programs are about the math, the programs themselves are about goals.

I have been involved with the Math*Counts for many years. Many of us tutor and help young people outside of the actual contest. For many kids, who come from broken homes or worse, then it is a chance to be a positive influence on their lives.

And the teachers who support this program often spend a great amount of their own time working with these kids. I give props to them and to the kids for investing in themselves and most of the time is after hours.

How many of the winners turned out to become surveyors? I have no clue, nor care. I would bet that nearly 100% went on to become successful in some endeavor later.

Deral

Kent: It is one of those "Public Service/Outreach" things.
I had the distinct pleasure of assisting in the proctoring one of the exams in Vista, California for my friend Armand Marois a few years ago.
The new Third Place winner, Nikhil Das, from Vista was probably one of his students... Hooray Armand!

As a kid I always liked the "mind games" of geometry and trig but did not see any practical value until a High School teacher (Hoaganmiller) told us of the real world applications he knew of by being a chainman on a survey crew for Dick Hogan, PLS on his summer breaks. That opened my eyes to a much bigger world and was probably a major factor in my becoming a real surveyor rather than a truck driver, commune dweller or a brain surgeon.

Was Me becoming a surveyor a good thing? I say Heck Yes! (your opinion may differ)

as a general rule, Surveyors are reclusive and private. not a bad thing, just another reality.

It is a good thing (for our fragile egos at least) to have people see that "land surveyor" and "landscaper" are different animals... and that many of us are more than just the guys that data gatherers for Engineers.

Now, back to your regular programing... 🙂

> How many of the winners turned out to become surveyors? I have no clue, nor care. I would bet that nearly 100% went on to become successful in some endeavor later.

And if they didn't, at least they count count out the correct change when they're working at Subway.

LOL!

> And if they didn't, at least they count count out the correct change when they're working at Subway.

LOL!

> Kent: It is one of those "Public Service/Outreach" things.

Well, as long as we understand that it doesn't actually bring people into the surveying profession and doesn't really benefit the profession in any substantial way, sure, why not spend lots of time and energy raising scholarship money for the bright kids who will go on to become electrical engineers or doctors? It's a no-brainer, right?

I really fail to understand your point, if you have one. Programs at this level are for promoting education. Kids at this point have no idea about their career choice.

Are you promoting the dumbing of America as it seems to be now?

Best Regards,

Deral

Misguided effort

Well, it does seem remarkably dumb to divert the energies and efforts of the profession from areas where they actually are needed. If the Trig-Star program doesn't bring people into the profession, I gather that its real purpose is to remind a small audience of people that many surveyors know something about trigonometry? That has all the earmarks of a misdirected feel-good effort.

Misguided effort

Well, it does seem remarkably dumb to divert the energies and efforts of the profession from areas where they actually are needed.

Who says you have to divert energy? Do you have someone that tells you where to focus your intentions?

Why can't we help kids develop an education without an underlying agenda?

You can focus your energy any where you like, and I'm sure you do. Why do you have to pick on someone promoting something good, like TrigStar, just because it does not follow your agenda?

THAT seems remarkably dumb to me.

Best Regards,

Douglas J. Casement, PLS Puyallup, WA

Misguided effort

> Well, it does seem remarkably dumb to divert the energies and efforts of the profession from areas where they actually are needed.
>
> Who says you have to divert energy? Do you have someone that tells you where to focus your intentions?

Well, usually the money and energy spent by surveyors on the Trig-Star program is done as a project of a chapter of a surveyor's association. That means that the money and energy is diverted from some other more worthwhile project, eh?

Misguided effort

Okay

So where should we devote funds and our efforts?

Or would you prefer we do neither?

Misguided effort

Our chapter has plenty to go around. Or, well, they did have.....

TrigStar is a great program that promotes education, nothing more. If a participant decides they want to become a surveyor, all the better. We would then encourage them to apply for one of our scholarship programs.;-)

Have a great day, I know I will.
Radar

Misguided effort

> > Well, it does seem remarkably dumb to divert the energies and efforts of the profession from areas where they actually are needed.
> >
> > Who says you have to divert energy? Do you have someone that tells you where to focus your intentions?
>
> Well, usually the money and energy spent by surveyors on the Trig-Star program is done as a project of a chapter of a surveyor's association. That means that the money and energy is diverted from some other more worthwhile project, eh?

Anything that raises the awareness or gives us an increased presence - and not just in students, but in the community as well - of the surveying profession is good for our industry. Face it, the public perception of surveying is either non-existent (bad enough) or negative (worse). With your myopic viewpoint, the need for state societies & chapters would be under scrutiny for the necessity of their existence.