OAKHURST – Yosemite High School (YHS) teacher and coach Rusty Oetinger has been selected to attend a prestigious week-long science festival through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
EurekaFest is a multi-day celebration designed to empower a legacy of inventors through activities that inspire youth, honor role models, and encourage creativity and problem solving.
Oetinger will join three other teachers selected as finalists, to participate in this national event. Presented by the Lemelson-MIT Program, the 8th annual EurekaFest will celebrate the inventive spirit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and at the Museum of Science in Boston.
Lemelson-MIT will fly Oetinger to Boston for the week of June 18-22, treating him to a week of participation at the science festival. The pinnacle of the week will be when Oetinger is presented a $10,000 check for the grant proposal he and the grant writer for the Yosemite district submitted in early January.
The proposal centered around developing clean water in third world countries, as well as locally at the school level, and is known at YHS as the “Purity Matters Project.” By going to Boston, Oetinger and his project will then be put into a final category, which will give “Purity Matters” a chance to win an additional $20,000.
During the week, Oetinger will learn from and interact with some of the top science and business teachers in the United States.
Mr. Oetinger is a Math and Environmental And Spacial Technology (EAST) teacher at YHS. As well as his teaching duties, Mr. Oetinger is the golf coach of the Varsity Girls Golf Team. He is also a Recognized Coach with The First Tee.
“I have never been to Boston and I am looking forward to the experience,” Oetinger stated, adding he is, “very excited and really looking forward to the EurekaFest this summer.”
At EurekaFest, Oetinger will attend many science and business presentations that will help his team of kids develop their project further.
For more information about The Purity Matters Project contact Rusty Oetinger at (559) 760-7607.
Read the SNO story about Purity Matters as a Senior Project for YHS.
Check out the website for EurekaFest and visit the District page for Yosemite High School
