> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Trumping the competition - URL: https://www.smdp.com/trumping-the-competition/ - Published: 2006-05-09T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:02:11.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import *Samohi students show business acumen* SAMOHI — Showing that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is still a leader in preparing students for life beyond the classroom, a group of would-be entrepreneurs here recently took home first-and third-place honors in separate competitions involving some of the best and brightest from across the country. Over the last weekend in April, students from Santa Monica High School’s Project Echo — a class that teaches students how to manage their own businesses — nearly swept all available categories at the California SAGE competition held in Chico, taking first place overall, as well as top honors in six of eight events, which measured a team’s community outreach plan, business models and presentations to prospective investors. The students received $4,000 for the victory and advance to the next round in New York, which will pit them against winners from nine other states. The team that prevails there will compete in the international competition in Shanghai, China, this August. “It was crazy,” said Project Echo student Chris Peterson of the team’s victory at SAGE, which stands for Students for the Advancement of Global Entreprenuership. “Teachers started crying, we were all cheering. It was a great moment.” That same weekend, Samohi’s Science Bowl team took third place in the Department of Energy National Science Bowl, which pits teams from 65 schools across the country against one another to see who knows more about biology, chemistry, astrology, physics and more. The competition is like the game show “Jeopardy,” where students are required to buzz in to answer a question. If they do so correctly, they are awarded points based on the difficulty of the question. Samohi students were chosen out of more than 12,000 students who participated in 65 regional science bowls. Samohi’s team was the champion of the regional competition held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The third place finish was the best Samohi has done in the national competition, according to team member Dimitry Petrenko, who participated in his first bowl after a year on the scout team. “We definitely had a shot at winning this year, but luck didn’t fall our way on a few questions,” Petrenko said. “I’m not disappointed with the result at all. I think it was a great experience and we definitely learned a lot of things that will help us improve our odds for next year.” Samohi’s science department will receive a $1,000 reward, as did each of the schools with a team finishing in the top 16. > “It was crazy... It was a great moment.” — CHRIS PETERSON PROJECT ECHO, STUDENT “We are very proud of the hard work and successful efforts of our Science Bowl team, under the leadership of Mr. Ingo Gaida,” Samohi principal and chief education officer Ilene Straus said last week. Students who chose to join these teams do so knowing they will have to put in a lot of extra work outside of normal school hours. To prepare for the SAGE competition, Project Echo students spent the majority of their spring break at school, perfecting their presentations. For the Science Bowl team, students have been preparing all school year, devoting time before and after school to studying their material and participating in mock competitions. “It’s really exciting to see the kids do so well after all the hard work they’ve put into this,” said Teri Jones, an instructor for Project Echo. “Because of their effort, we’re probably the most hated high school in the state since we took first place in just about every category.” Project Echo members will leave for Brooklyn on May 24 to compete that weekend. SAGE is providing some funding to help pay for hotel rooms and meals, but students are still short about $350 per person. Some may be able to raise the money themselves, but Jones said any money donated would be much appreciated. “Not every kid can afford this trip, but they all deserve to go,” Jones said. > “Not every kid can afford this trip, but they all deserve to go.” — TERI JONES PROJECT ECHO, INSTRUCTOR Those wishing to donate funds, can contact Jones at In the meantime, Project Echo kids are hard at work, refining their presentations and building on suggestions received by judges at the state level. “We need to improve how we carry ourselves, how to adapt to a different environment like New York, with a different community, different experiences, but we are working on getting all the jitters out,” Peterson said. “Right now, it seems we’re busy trying to raise money for the trip.” Peterson said the team still hasn’t had time to celebrate the win, except for a trip to an ice cream parlor in Chico. “I think we’re all just too excited about New York,” Peterson said. “We’ll have some extra days to go sightsee-ing, explore Manhattan a little. I think that will be our time to kind of sit back and enjoy what we’ve accomplished. Hopefully, though, we won’t have that much time to enjoy it because we’ll be busy preparing for Shanghai.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 9, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/050906.pdf?ref=smdp.com)