Future Problem Solvers Club competed in the State Bowl in Waco, Texas on April 11 to 12. Junior David Fang competed in and won first with his team in Multi-Affiliate Global Issues Competition. Junior Joy Xia won fourth in the Senior Individual Global Issues Problem Solving. The club won fifth in Community Problem Solving with their project Beat the Heat.

Beat the Heat was a service campaign to increase awareness and community preparedness against the dangers of Houston heat waves. Club members installed signs and planted aloe vera in the rooftop garden and other public parks for heat stroke prevention. They distributed over 300 flyers with heat safety guidelines and resources and provided kits with sunscreen and cooling towels to the Westbury Community Garden members.

“Our project was local, which is like the point of CMPS,” sophomore and CMPS representative Saanvi Bharat said. “I thought Beat the Heat was a really good project for Texas specifically. It encouraged people to take their health more seriously when it comes to living in Texas and staying cool during hot days, to help people understand the life threatening consequences of heat waves.”

11 people competed in Global Issues Problem Solving. GIPS is another competition offered by the FPS organization that involves generating a solution and action plan for a future scene given in a limited time period.

“GIPS was really challenging because there’s people from all over Texas competing,” sophomore and individual GIPS competitor Annabel Qiu said. “There’s a lot of schools that have very large GIPS teams, and they prepare throughout the entire year for this one competition, which makes it very competitive.”

Multi-Affiliate Global Issues Competition is a variation of GIPS where competitors form teams with students from schools across Texas. Fang teamed up with students from schools from Prestonwood Christian Academy, whom he had met that same day.

“It was great to see new faces at State Bowl,” Fang said. “This is actually my first year competing in magic, so having more senior teammates really helped me get familiarized with the format of the competition. I definitely felt nervous just being in a room with a bunch of strangers, but over time, getting to know each other really helped.”

FPS has travelled to Waco for the State Bowl for seven consecutive years. In between competitions, the club always visits Waco attractions like the Baylor University campus and Magnolia Market.

“There are a lot of stores and cool food places that you see all over social like the viral mac and cheese place in Waco,” Qiu said. “I enjoyed chilling in the field with my friends at the Magnolia Market.”

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Joy Xia

Sophomores Cindy Tint, Saanvi Bharat and Raya Jogi enjoy the weather at the Magnolia Market. They later purchased drinks at nearby food trucks.

Although the club did not qualify for the FPS International Conference this year, Beat the Heat has already engaged over 300 community members, and members plan to continue their project by painting awareness murals at local elementary schools.

“I definitely felt that Beat the Heat was successful in spreading awareness about the issue of heat waves that’s especially prevalent in this day and age,” Fang said. “I definitely hope that we do make it to internationals next year, and I think we can do it, especially with all the new members being so involved this past year.”

Next year, FPS will come up with another service project for the community and attend State Bowl. To learn more about FPS, follow the club’s Instagram @bellairefps.