Five Grand Prize Winners Announced in Samsung’s $1 Million Solve for Tomorrow National Education Contest

Public schools from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, and New York to each receive $100,000 of technology at an event with John Legend in Washington, D.C.
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., March 15, 2012 – Samsung announced today the five grand prize winners in its nationwide Solve for Tomorrow contest, a competition to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education among U.S. public school students. The five grand prize winners were chosen from the 12 finalists selected in February to receive technology from Samsung, Microsoft, the Adobe Foundation, and DIRECTV. The winners are:

Winning Schools
Winning Videos
Lawrence County High School, Moulton, AL http://youtu.be/iaOL2A4YU0Y
Desert Wind Middle School, Maricopa, AZ http://youtu.be/aJgeCbGNv1w
Davenport School of the Arts, Davenport, FL http://youtu.be/bsRXUpBiAjM
Jefferson Township Middle School, Oak Ridge, NJ http://youtu.be/5AWMnPPWsTw
Schoharie High School, Schoharie, NY http://youtu.be/itZdpXDWQjM

The 12 finalist videos can be seen at www.samsung.com/solvefortomorrow

Schoharie High School won the Community Choice Award through public online voting and will receive an assistance dog for their school in addition to the $100,000 of technology. All five schools will choose from a range of technology prizes such as smart boards, LED TVs, printers, laptops and software.

All five winners will be honored in a special Washington, D.C. ceremony in April with John Legend, the Grammy Award-winning recording artist and education advocate.

The contest is part of Samsung Hope for Children, the company’s philanthropic initiative focused on helping children lead healthier, smarter, and more sustainable lives.

“The passion this contest engendered was amazing to see,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy of Samsung Electronics North America. “Schoharie High School received more than 100,000 votes as our Community Choice winner. That kind of public support is fantastic. Congratulations to all the winning schools as well as the other seven finalists. We hope that the challenge of this contest, together with the technology for winning schools, will help spark students’ passion to become the innovators of tomorrow through STEM education.”

More than 1,500 schools from all 50 states entered the contest that kicked off in August with an essay submission on how STEM can help the environment in their community. Twenty-five were picked to receive a video production kit containing $1,000 of technology – a Samsung laptop, camcorder, and Adobe software – to compete as semi-finalists and in the video phase of the contest.

About Samsung Electronics North America

Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc., and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. The company was ranked #17 in BusinessWeek/Interbrand “100 Best Global Brands,” and named as one of Fast Company’s “50 Most Innovative Companies of 2011.” For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.

About Samsung Hope for Children

Samsung is dedicated to creating products that inspire passion and enable people to live Smarter Lives. Samsung Hope for Children represents the company’s philanthropic commitment in the U.S. to help improve children’s health, education and sustainability. Over the past 10 years, Samsung Electronics America and its retail and business partners have helped more than 400 schools, community-based foundations, and charities throughout the U.S. raise awareness of and funding for their causes. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com/hope