The Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind Los Alamos Middle School team shows off its first place trophy at the Colorado State Competition. Team members from left, Coach Vickie Daley, Jocelyne Dolejsi, Audrey Thornton, Cate Dallmann, Keiland Kolar, Coach Matt Allen, Maverick Hoffer and Kai Bain-ZInk. Courtesy photo
The Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind Aspen Elementary School team shows off its second place trophy at the Colorado State Competition. Team members, front row from left, Ally Mackey and Cora Brown. Back row, from left, Kenzie Bain, Idris Ortega, Lydia Condrey, Tehya Thornton, Emi Wilson, Coach Vickie Daley and Coach Matt Allen. Courtesy photo
Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind Los Alamos High School team shows off its second place trophy at the Colorado State Competition. Team members from left, Coach Matt Allen, Coach Vickie Daley, Alea Kretz, Sophia Pacheco, Rafa Rocha, Drew Bacrania and Amelia Dolejsi. Courtesy photo
Staff Report
Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind is ending its eight-year run on a high note. The elementary, middle school and high school teams competed in the Colorado State Competition April 11 at Thunder Valley K-8 in Frederick, Colo., and the Los Alamos Middle School team earned first place in its division, while the teams from Aspen Elementary School and Los Alamos High School each earned second place in their divisions.
The teams competed in Colorado because there are no other Odyssey of Mind teams in New Mexico.
All three teams’ victories secure them spots at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals Competition, which takes place May 27-30 at Iowa State University. They will get to compete with teams from all over the world: Germany, Poland, China, Mexico, Hong Kong, South Korea, and many other countries.
The students were not the only ones who shone during the state competition. The coaches, Vickie Daley and her husband Matt Allen, won Omers Awards. Allen explained that this award, which is a play on Odyssey of the Mind, is given to children or adults in the program who “demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, exemplary behavior, or exceptional talent”.
He added that they were nominated for this award for restarting the Odyssey of the Mind program in New Mexico, as well as for all the time they dedicated to the students and families in the program.
“Since there are no other teams in the state, we’ve had to start this program from scratch,” Allen said.
This string of success feels a little bittersweet because the Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind is ending. Allen explained that he and Daley are moving to China to teach in an international school.
“We’ve built an amazing little family through this program, and while we’re excited for our new opportunity in China, we’re sad to see our Omers go,” he said.
Allen added that he feels it isn’t likely that anyone will continue the program since coaching is an unpaid position and a large time commitment. Still, he thanks the community for its support.
“Our Odyssey families have been so supportive to us over the years since we started the program,” Allen said. “Without their support, this program doesn’t grow into what it is today. We are so thankful for everything they’ve done for us. We’re also thankful for all the support from local businesses in the past few years. The Rotary Club helped us tremendously this year, and the 100 Men Who Care have always shown amazing support for us, as well as many other businesses and organizations throughout the years.”
Anyone who is interested in supporting the middle school’s trip to the world competition can donate by emailing victoria.daley@laschools.net or m.allen@laschools.net. Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind does have a booster club that has been fundraising for more than three years.
Looking back on their tenure with the local Odyssey of the Mind program, Allen said he and Daley are proud of “the support of our families and the community. This program really fosters this wonderful sense of family among the members and their families.”
“The families and community took care of us and the program this past year. Our kids had to overcome a lot of issues and changes, which were out of their control. They stuck by each other, helped us problem-solve and kept a positive attitude. It paid off,” Allen added. “Additionally, we love seeing the growth of the children in the program. Many of the kids you see in the pictures have become these wonderfully talented individuals, and we believe Odyssey of the Mind has had a strong hand in that. Furthermore, many of those kids have been doing this program year after year because of that sense of challenge and family. We’ve had many students on the teams for 4+ years, and we even have one young lady who has done it since she was in 4th grade. She’s a junior in high school now! I think we’re most proud of those two things: the families we’ve gotten to know and the growth we see out of the kids.”
Odyssey of the Mind is the world’s largest problem-solving competition, Allen said. It is best described as “STEM meets performing arts”. Every year, teams from around the world choose a long-term problem to solve. Each solution is a skit that has various requirements. Some are based on classical literature, some have cars that need to be created or some use balsa wood structures that need to hold the most weight.
This year’s team rosters included the following students:
- Aspen Elementary School team
- Idris Ortega, Lydia Condrey, Ally Mackey, Emi Wilson, Kenzie Bain, Tehya Thornton, Cora Brown
- Los Alamos Middle School team
- Kai Bain-Zink, Maverick Hoffer, Jocelyne Dolejsi, Cate Dallmann, Keiland Kolar, Audrey Thornton
- Los Alamos High School team
- Alea Kretz, Drew Bacrania, Sophia Pacheco, Amelia Dolejsi, Rafa Rocha
For more information about Odyssey of the Mind, visit https://odysseyofthemind.com/
Members of the Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind. Courtesy photo
Members of the Los Alamos County Odyssey of the Mind. Courtesy photo