Former MHS student Lidia Belete, who is currently attending the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, has been utilizing the 3D printers from Marion High School with Coach Gray (2020 Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year) to print off mask straps for the community. The printing process went well as she has donated nearly 500 mask straps to various hospitals, clinics, and other institutions across the country such as Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Virginia, and Washington D.C. She wanted to thank MHS for allowing her to help healthcare workers and other working citizens alleviate pain from.wearing masks on their ears.

 She applied for a Computer Science Summer Research Fellowship that would grant a senior $600 dollars to utilize for a summer computer science learning experience. In May, she was awarded that fellowship virtually through donations from the 2015 Coding Arkansas’ Future Community of Learning Luncheon. She wanted to utilize a majority of it for her home school because MHS has given her a great deal of opportunities. Talking with Coach Gray about the specific type of 3D printer to get, she purchased a brand new 3D printer for the MHS Computer Science Department.

 Some of the great uses for a 3D printer are to understand its purpose in the medical field, students interested in engineering, specifically biomedical engineering (students interested in a crossover of the medical field and engineering), are able to learn about the surge for creating prosthetics and speeding up various surgical processes.

 Additionally, students interested in computer science can learn about popular software (such as CAD software) from the 3D printer. Also, they would be able to apply their knowledge from a version of a digital model from their computer to be printed out into a physical form. This would also be a benefit for students participating in Robotics club since printing to recreate parts can help understand how parts come together.

 This new addition to the MHS Computer Science Department will continue to expand the great work Coach Gray does with his students. This is just one example of the many wonderful things and reasons why Coach Gray was chosen as the 2020 Arkansas Computer Science Educator of the Year.  

It’s a great time to be a Marion Patriot!