I think the best possible technique for promoting Destination Imagination (“DI”), comes from sharing our own personal experiences. This is my twelth and final year in DI and while I’m sad and may have broken into tears during Regionals, I am more grateful and nostalgic than anything else. Destination Imagination has solidified the person I have grown into, serving as a consistent outlet from the first grade all the way to my senior year in high school. I am obviously emotionally invested in this program (and all that it has given to me) and I am certain that I can serve DI best by sharing its accolades and the incomparable stories and experiences to anyone willing to listen.

I would speak of the team that DI gave me; that has doubled as my support system for over eight years now. I would speak of laughing fits that left me gasping for air, I would speak of the consistency that my team has provided me, not only being my team, but my best friends since the fourth grade. I would speak about the commitment that is in a team, how we vowed to each other that we would continue DI through middle and high school, even while being at different schools. I would talk about how these friendships were established and maintained by Destination Imagination. I would talk about my belief in each of my team mates, as we go on to college I could not have more faith in what a group of individuals can accomplish. In my team lies a neurosurgeon, a photographer/journalist, a physical therapist, and a bilingual broadcast journalist, there is not a single doubt in my mind that they will accomplish all of this and more. I would talk about the stars in our eyes as we witnessed our first state competition, going on to see 5 more, making yet another vow to one day see globals.

I would speak about my Team Manager, Denise Barrett, and what a role model she stands as for our entire team. I would describe her tireless commitment through late night phone calls, and freak outs, and 8 years of managing teenage girls; how she has managed to keep her sanity I will never know. She has played a large role in who I am today, taking it upon herself to teach us not only things that would help in DI, but in life. Through the team manager that DI provided me with, I learned how to be a gracious, humble, and proud young lady. My team manager stands as a pillar for what I aspire to be, she is strong and will not be shaken, yet kind and compassionate, making sure that every child feels important and recognized, she gives all of herself to her students, and she has never once lost hope in me. My gratitude to her could go on for the entirety of this essay, but there is no way that I could promote Destination Imagination without speaking of the influential individual who exposed me to DI, as well as give a nod to all of the team managers out there, sharing what DI can provide with our future generations.

I would speak of the environment that surrounds Destination Imagination, one that can never be recreated. The environment of DI is one of support, encouragement, and the feeling that there are people who are just like you. I would speak of competition days, where adults were clad in crazy hats and pins just like us. I would speak of the appraisers who remembered my team throughout the years, and always found a way to come speak to us and wish us luck. I would speak of going to state for the first time at 10 years old, and having kind high schoolers show us the ropes of pin trading, taking us under their wing, as we would eventually do for other teams once we became more experienced.

I would speak of the impact that DI has on the younger kids. As a kid, I had trouble coming out of my shell, and DI provided an environment where I was free to be silly, creative, and to put forth any idea. It showed me that plenty of people longed for a place to create and be silly. As a team of high school seniors we are quite the spectacle at competitions, being that most teams are in elementary or middle school; we’ve had coaches and kids alike come up to us and tell them how inspiring it was to see older kids still participating and enjoying DI, they would see our performance and come talk to us after, in awe of big kids, giving such impactful complements that reminded my team why we kept doing this.

Lastly I would speak of the community that DI has provided me with, any time that I find someone who has participated in DI it is as if I’ve made an instant friend. Throughout auditions, college interviews, job interviews and other interactions, having the common thread of DI changes the demeanor of the interaction immediately. DI has provided me with a way to network and find things in common with those around me. There is a clear level of comfort in meeting someone who has participated and knows the experience like you do.

Teamwork, support, friendship, mentors, role models, encouragement, creativity, and community; if we promote these ideas and share our experiences from the heart, those who we encounter will surely long to join us.