Maura Zurfluh
Franklin High School
Being a future problem solver is not an easy task. To excel in this program along with maintaining high achievement in traditional coursework in school, is quite an accomplishment. The recipient of the Future Problem Solving of Virginia 2014 Scholarship has done just this. As a participant in FPS for the past seven years, as a 6th grader all the way up through senior year, this student has been an integral part of her school system’s program competing as an individual in the Global Issues Problem Solving component, Scenario Writing, assistant coaching a middle division Community Problem Solving team, and even mentoring elementary school students as they learn the FPS problem-solving process.
Attending numerous State Bowls and even International Competitions, this recipient has represented the state of Virginia in the Scenario Writing competition with her outstanding, thought-provoking stories of the future. One of which you had the opportunity to hear at last night’s program.
The crowning glory of this student’s FPS achievement is her willingness to reach out to students at Thomas Jefferson High School to facilitate a fall workshop on scenario-writing. Her coach applauded the way she “selflessly creat[ed] a more competitive scenario writing field of participants to improve the overall FPS program.”
Her participation in Future Problem Solving has, as she says, “taught me not only the importance of understanding the problem, but of teamwork, as well.” No doubt, she will put these crucial problem-solving skills to use as she pursues her academic career in the field of Cognitive Science, an interdisciplinary study of the human brain.
