[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2578-S2579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Congratulating Snowflake Junior High School

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I have spoken a lot in recent years about 
how Arizona is quickly becoming one of our country's major tech hubs. 
From entrepreneurial startups to major technology companies, Arizona is 
supporting innovation like never before. In fact, it was just announced 
that Waymo, Google's self-driving car project, will be launching its 
first public trials of self-driving vehicles in the greater Phoenix 
area.
  But, today, the biggest news in tech isn't coming from publicly 
traded Silicon Valley companies. No, today, the talk of the tech world 
is the students from my alma mater, Snowflake Junior High School. That 
is because these students from my small hometown of Snowflake, AZ, just 
won the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest.
  This national contest tasks students from across the country with 
creating a solution to improve their local communities by using STEAM 
skills--Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.
  The winning project from Mr. Eilertsen's students is something 
special. Snowflake students designed and constructed a low-cost animal 
detection system to prevent fatalities from vehicle collisions with 
wild animals. They were motivated by the fact that an estimated 200 
people lose their lives each year in these collisions, which can be 
common around rural communities like Snowflake.
  The winning design consists of a 10-inch, weather-resistant motion 
sensor that blinks to warn drivers when a large animal is near. These 
durable, affordable sensors can be placed atop existing fence posts 
like the thousands that line roads all over rural Arizona.
  I had the opportunity to meet with these very bright students--2 of 
them from a class of, I believe, 23--and those 2 are in the Gallery 
today, along with their teacher Mr. Eilertsen. I had the opportunity to 
meet with them yesterday in my office and to hear all about this 
winning project. Let me tell my colleagues that they blew me away with 
their creativity, their knowledge, and, most of all, their desire to 
use the STEAM discipline to save lives.
  Think about how remarkable this project is. Here is a device that can 
actually save hundreds of lives and prevent harm to wildlife and to 
livestock. With the grit and ingenuity of a great startup, these 
students at Snowflake Junior High have shown the country that big ideas 
come from small towns.
  In recognition of their innovative project, the students won $150,000 
in technology for their school and an additional $20,000 for having the 
most popular project on social media and with the public--not bad for 
some kids from Snowflake.
  Before I yield the floor, I would like to thank Mr. Eilertsen for all 
that he has done to inspire his students to think big and for making a 
victory in this Samsung competition possible.
  I would also like to thank all of the faculty and staff in Snowflake 
for their tireless work as educators.
  Finally, I would like to congratulate the students of Snowflake 
Junior High for their victory. I am confident that your project will 
save lives, and by winning this competition, you have provided your 
school with educational resources that will help students for years to 
come.

[[Page S2579]]

  To the winning students from Snowflake Junior High School: 
Congratulations. You make me proud to be a Lobo, and, as always, proud 
to come from Snowflake and proud to be an Arizonan.