Central Valley Elementary OM team’s win is powerful reminder of the importance of creativity

Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of stories about the five Monroe-Woodbury teams advancing to world Odyssey of the Mind competition at Iowa State University.

CENTRAL VALLEY — It’s been two weeks since their Division I first place win at SUNY Binghamton, but the seven members of the Central Valley Elementary Odyssey of the Mind “Weird Science” team are still euphoric.

Along with four other Monroe-Woodbury School District teams, they are now preparing for participating in world competition with hundreds of other OMers - as Odyssey of the Mind students are known - from around the nation and from 25 countries worldwide at Iowa State University.

Wearing their signature “OM” purple shirts - as was their coach Lauren Phillips - the team met with a visitor to talk about the significance of their Odyssey of the Mind experiences thus far.

“It’s the only place (at school) where I get to be this creative,” said William Carter. “In class, we have to do things the way the teacher wants. You have to do it the exact way. Here we can do it the way we want.”

‘Working with the team’ Since auditions last October, the team has been working countless hours to perfect their performance. All remarked about the creative fun they had in the process as well as the camaraderie developed.

“The most fun part has been working with the team,” said Deaglan DiMurro as he put his arm around his team member Alexi Berges and smiled at everyone. “It’s been crazy but fun. When you’re in Odyssey, you’re in charge. We’re deciding and the adults just supervise. You go outside of your comfort zone. If you just be yourself, that helps you to be the most creative person you can be.”

Others had their own thoughts about being an Odyssey participant.

Alexi Berges: “When you’re at school, you don’t have to act like you’re in school.”

Rajan Patel: “You work as a team; you can’t work separately.”

Emily Wang: “OM makes me feel really proud of myself.”

Ronan Fitts: “When you have creative ideas, you look to see how these ideas will work out.”

Sean McGee: “This is my first year. I’m just amazed.”

Like their counterparts, the team will be reviewing judges’ scores and comments, looking to see how they can further creatively refine their performances as travel arrangements begin to be reviewed.

“Creativity is like the cement in bricks,” William added. “That’s what holds everything in life together. If there was no creativity in our world, it would be blank and boring.”

By Nancy Kriz