WEGE PRIZE HIGH SCHOOL COLLABORATIVE STUDIO
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
It’snota theory,it’san equationfor impact
WEGE PRIZE: COLLABORATIVE BY DESIGN
Wege Prize grew out of a collaboration between Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) and The Wege Foundation. As the retired chairman of the West Michigan office furniture giant Steelcase, Peter M. Wege (pronounced WEG-ee) had a passion for protecting the environment, an interest that inspired him to start The Wege Foundation in 1967. Throughout his life, Wege leveraged that passion and his business acumen to become the champion of “economicology,” the merging of economy with ecology.
When KCAD expanded into the Historic Federal Building in Grand Rapids in 2012, the foundation played a key role in establishing the Wege Center for Sustainable Design on the building’s fourth floor. Envisioned as a resource for both students and the community, the center empowers people to use art and design as vehicles for solving problems and telling stories of a sustainable community.
In 2021, the college and the foundation teamed up again to create the Wege Prize High School Collaborative Studio program. In effort to prepare students for the collegiate Wege Prize design competition and to further their interest and knowledge in circular practices, this annual summer event invites high school junior and senior students to collaborate in teams of five that connect members across different schools, using design thinking principles to develop economically feasible circular solutions for complex environmental problems while considering how this experience may help shape their future.
FROM THE WEGE PRIZE TEAM
We want to share with you some of the hallmarks from the fourth year of the Wege Prize High School Collaborative Studio summer program, a year where we saw a larger and more diverse group of participants than any previous year. What we appreciate most is the increasing interest of students in the topics of sustainability, equality and inclusion. We were truly inspired by the dedication to teamwork and problem solving displayed by this years teams as well as the innovative ideas and solutions they brought forth.
We want to thank the teams for taking the time to participate in the Wege High School Summer Program. We hope this final report sheds light onto the hard work and creative thinking students demonstrated.
Sincerely,
BAILLE KEENER
Work Study
Student Facilitator, KCAD
GAYLE DEBRUYN CASEY KOOPS Professor and Sustainability Officer, KCAD
Work Study
Student Facilitator,
KCAD
JAMES FISCHER
Work Study
Student Facilitator,
KCAD
Where education meets action
WELCOME TO KCAD! STUDENTS RECEIVED A PLACEMAT OUTLINING THE ACTIVITIES PLANNED EACH DAY.
SETTING THE TABLE FOR A MEMORABLE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Excursion Map
DOWNTOWN GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Kids Food Basket
John Ball Zoo
2024 WEGE EXCURSIONS
Meeting with different industry leaders, businesses and non-profits in Grand Rapids throughout the two-week Wege Collaborative High School Studio program.
Packaging lunches at Kid’s Food Basket
Exploring fabrics with Conscious Clothing
Screenprinting t-shirts at KCAD
River walk with Wendy Ogilvie
Sorting tomatoes at Kid’s Food Basket
Improv with Mary Jane Pories
Walk through the Zoo with Allmon Forrester and Matthew VanSweden
Visit to BAMF Health with Andy McLean
Additional Subject Matter Experts
Many people and organizations were involved in this experience, we want to thank each and every one of them for their participation
Mary Ellen Mika Global Sustainability Director, Steelcase
John Cauchi Inclusion Consultant & Trainer, DAKC Comedian
Dr. Kimberly KennedyBarrington Founder of 100 Shades of Diverse Abilities
Mary Jane Pories Founder of the Fish Ladder, Author, Poet and Speech Coach
Doug Phillips Founder of Conscious Clothing
Justine Bryant ALS Interpreter Founder of Access to ALS
Fernando Ramirez Founder of Common Objects Studio
Elise Bohn KCAD Faculty, Library Director
Lori Faulkner KCAD Faculty, Chair of the School of Fashion at KCAD
Dar Baas Director of Kent County Department of Public Works
Damon Bouwkamp Manager of volunteer services at Kids Food Basket
Dr. Cory Redman Science Curator at the Grand Rapids Public Museum
BY THE NUMBERS
4 Years of Immersive Experience
A Closer Look at 2024...
In our fourth year, we had our largest and most diverse application pool yet, by all metrics. 27 27 20 20
2 2 17 17 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
GRAND RAPIDS, MI. GREATER AREA HIGH SCHOOLS
The International School of
NAIROBI, KENYA
Kenya
Meet The Teams
Meet the teams that competed in the Wege Prize High School Collaborative Studio.
THE BLUE JAYS
The Blue Jays were inspired by our visit to BAMF Health and took an interest in implementing an organization to help prevent the spread of medical misinformation.
MERINAZ DADGAR
Forest Hills Northern High School
JACOB MILES
Wyoming High School
JAY DOMBROWSKI
City High Middle School
LONDYN EDWARDS
East Kentwood High School
SOLANGE SIFA
Godfrey-Lee High School
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals supported:
CREATORS CONCEPT
The Creators Concept team focused on waste management by helping educate the general public on methods for diverting their compostable materials.
JULIAN WILSON
City High Middle School
PARKER ALLCHIN
Byron Center High School
AANYA DOGRA
Forest Hills Northern High School
TAJ OSBORNE
East Grand Rapids High School
City High Middle School
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals supported:
SINDI JERONIMO-LUCAS
Meet The Teams
THE EARTHWORMS
The Earthworms’ project centered around driving policy reform to educate and enhance the recycling and repurposing of construction and demolition waste.
ERICK TENORIO
City High Middle School
FLORA CUERVO
Godfrey-Lee High School
CALVIN DONAHUE
City High Middle School
MADDIE CHAPMAN
Forest Hills Central High School
THANG MUNG
East Kentwood High School
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals supported:
THE STURGEON
The Sturgeon were focused on redesigning mental health facilities in an affordable and sustainable manner to create a more welcoming and healing environment.
RAM REDDY
City High Middle School
MAE RYDINGSWARD
City High Middle School
ARULMURUGAN
Forest Hills Eastern High School
PEDRO WRIGHT
East Kentwood High School
International School of Kenya
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals supported:
ANANYA
TAMARA WANYOIKE
2024 CRITIQUE TEAM
Meet our Wege Prize High School coaches. Pulled from the collegiate judging team these experts connect the two experiences providing the high school students a taste of the collegiate Wege Prize competition.
BILL STOUGH
Owner, Bill Stough LLC, Founder of Sustainable Research Group
KYLE AUSTIN Content Coordinator
Zoom Call from California
LISA OLIVER-KING
Executive Director, Our Kitchen Table
SKOT WELCH
Owner of Global Bridgebuilders
NATHAN SHEDROFF
Professor at California College of the Arts, Entrepreneur, and Author
TOM NEWHOUSE
Owner/Principal of Thomas J Newhouse Design
AUDREY WHALING Climatebase Fellow
COLIN WEBSTER
Learning Content Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Zoom Call from Scotland
TEAM INTERVIEWS
After the certificates were handed out, each team was interviewed about their Wege Collaborative Studio experience. Here are some of the things they had to say...
“I really hope that other kids our age finally see what we’re doing to make the world a better place. I hope they also in the future want to participate in something like this to learn more about the environment and the circular economy.”
-Londyn Edwards (Center), team Blue Jays
“The insight I took away from this experience is that we can be sustainable and use the elements of design in whatever way or career path we choose. So for me, it’s about having those values and carrying them on wherever I go.”
-Aanya Dogra (Center), team Creators Concept
“What I really got out of this is that I had never thought of designing for disassembly before and how important it is in the design process to think about where you’re getting your materials, what’s going to happen afterward, and what its life would look like when it’s off the shelf.”
-Calvin Donahue (Center), team Earthworms
“What I found most helpful was thinking about my future and meeting with all the speakers. Just talking to them and hearing their stories really inspired me. Go and listen to people and see what people are doing in our world to inspire change.”
-Mae
Rydingsward (Right), team Sturgeon
CRITIQUE TEAM FEEDBACK
After their presentations, the Wege Collaborative Studio students were given feedback on their work by our Judges and insights into how these projects could come to life in the future.
“All of you are influencers, practice what you preach as an influencer.”
-Lisa Oliver King
“The impact of the Earthworm’s project could be huge on the public.”
- Tom Newhouse
“Innovation often happens in the fringes of an industry.”
- Skot Welch
“TeamSturgeon,Ireallyappreciateyour calltoawarenessofmentalhealthissues.”
- Audrey Whaling
SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Exciting Developments!
The 2024 Wege High School Collaborative Studio made some waves in the local community. These are two of the articles that local news outlets released about the WEGE High School Collaborative Studio.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW.
WATCH THE FOX 17 MORNING MIX WITH STUDENTS ANANYA ARULMURUGAN & PARKER ALLCHIN.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW. READ THE RAPID GROWTH MEDIA PROFILE
Stay connected to Wege High School Collaborative Studio through our social media and our website to keep up to date on important dates, participant news, and more!
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THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS!
Thank you to the Wege Foundation for their continued financial support, making Wege Prize High School Collaborative Studio possible.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR WEGE PRIZE HIGH SCHOOL COLLABORATIVE STUDIO
We can’t wait to see what our summer studio for 2025 looks like! We are hoping to grow our program by five students this year! SAVE THE DATE (Culminating Celebration): August 1, 2025
Thank You!