Corporate
[Update] Samsung Solve: Where Are They Now? An Educator Inspires Young Gamers to Tackle E-waste
12/15/2021
Update as of 9/19/2022:
Since last connecting with the founders of ReGame Inc., the non-profit has continued to grow and make an impact on communities, nationwide. Following its launch in November 2021, ReGame Inc. has collected over 125 games and over 50 tablets and systems. Co-founders Lydia, Elijah and Bethany Denton continue to reach out to nursing homes, Ronald McDonald House of Charities, foster homes, group homes and more as they raise awareness about the harmful effects of e-waste.
Co-founder Lydia Denton was recognized as one of The 74’s “16 Under 16 in STEM” and received the 2022 Angela Award from National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), where she presented at the 2022 NSTA National Conference. She also presented at the Science is Cool Unconference, and will be a keynote speaker at Bowling Green State University’s Women in STEM conference this fall. Carolina Biological Young Innovators included Lydia as part of their 2022-2023 cohort, where she encourages students to use innovation to improve the world.
We would like to congratulate Lydia, Elijah, Bethany and Covey Denton on their ongoing success with ReGame Inc. and their contributions toward building a better tomorrow.
Covey Denton is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specialty teacher at the Sallie B. Howard School of Arts and Science in rural Wilson, North Carolina, located forty miles east of Raleigh. She’s spent the past two years of her eight-year career with the public charter school that serves more than 1,000 students in grades K-11. The diverse student body is 96.7% economically disadvantaged and, as Covey puts it, “we’re offering a holistic education to produce thinkers of the heart and citizens of the world.”
Thinkers of the heart are exactly what Covey and her fellow educators are developing. The students have participated twice in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, the rigorous nationwide competition that challenges public school students to showcase how STEM can be applied to help improve their community. Both times, they went on to become North Carolina State Finalists with projects tackling roadway flooding and childhood drowning and hypoxia.
Teacher | Covey Denton, STEM Specialty Teacher |
School | Sallie B. Howard School of Arts and Science |
Location | Wilson, North Carolina |
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Stats | 2019-20 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow State Finalist 2020-21 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow State Finalist Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Teacher Academy Summer 2021 Cohort 2021-22 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competitor |
To further cultivate her students’ STEM thinking for the new 2021-2022 school year, Covey signed up for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Teacher Academy, a weeklong professional development practicum designed to build and sustain a culture of STEM teaching and learning. The theme for the third annual Teacher Academy was sustainability – and one of the sessions focused on electronic waste (e-waste).
“I was unaware of the magnitude of the e-waste problem. Being in a rural area, our community focuses on fertilizer and pig farm waste and runoff,” said Covey. “When my son heard that the Teacher Academy was taking the cohort on a virtual field trip to a recycling facility, he along with my two daughters wanted to join. They were shocked by the staggering amount of e-waste created each year and it propelled them to take action!”