First place honors for each task went to the University of Maryland , Montana Tech, and the University of Idaho , respectively. Gerbrandt says the contest provides a tremendous education, and former students bear him out. McCarthy says the experience he gained with heavy metal contamination is applicable to his current work for a petroleum firm, not to mention the coping skills he gained from the give and take of the team effort. Kelly Sturm, one of McCarthy's teammates, says the skills she gained in preparing the poster session and delivering the oral presentation have been directly applicable to the job she began with a Wyoming mining company shortly after the 1994 contest. We invested all our energy because we knew only the highest caliber work would win.
Former contestants say they are glad to have competition participation on their resumes.
It definitely sparked interest in job interviews and gave them a chance to talk about an experience that set them apart from other candidates. Susan Masten, faculty sponsor of the Michigan State team, praises the interdisciplinary aspect of the contest's demands. The student-generated solutions are so well designed that several have been implemented at federal and industrial sites throughout the country. It also reflects the freshness of their thinking in addressing the world's most pressing environmental issues. WERC, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001.