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Students At Two Rockford High Schools Finalists In National STEM Challenge

YouTube user Ford Scholars / "Jefferson Fitness Trail" Screen Shot

Two northern Illinois high schools have students competing for a $10,000 prize in a national STEM competition. The money would go to help implement the winning group’s project proposals that could benefit their schools and the community.

There are ten finalists in the Ford STEM Community Challenge. They include students from Jefferson and East High Schools in Rockford.

The Jefferson High School group is working to build an outdoor fitness trail for gym classes, school athletics and community use. The students say it’s to address Rockford being ranked as one of the most obese cities in the U.S.

East High School’s group wants to expand Rockford’s landscape and help donate crop yields with their “One Plant At A Time” initiative.

Up to two winning proposals could win $10,000, and six could win $5,000 from Ford to support their proposed projects.

Voting for the challenge closes early next week. Winners will be announced April 19.