Chicago Students Capture Top Honors in Hostway's Web Design Contest

Mt. Carmel, Northside College Prep Students Win Scholarships Contest Co-Sponsored by Mayor Daley's Council of Technology Advisors

Chicago, IL—July 14, 2004—Students from Mt. Carmel High School and Northside College Preparatory High School took top honors today in a contest to find the best Web sites designed by Chicago area high school students.

Stephen Flores, 18, who later this month will enter the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, created and maintained the official school Web site at Mt. Carmel, a Catholic high school on Chicago's South Side. Chris Keenan, 17, a senior at Northside Prep, built a Web site that serves as a study resource for his fellow students in Advanced Placement U.S. History classes.

Each student won a $2,500 scholarship from Hostway Corporation, the Chicago-based contest sponsor and one of the world's leading providers of Internet hosting services. Also providing support for the contest was Mayor Richard M. Daley's Council of Technology Advisors.

"We congratulate the winners, finalists and all entrants who shared their creativity and technical skills by entering our contest," said John Lee, Hostway's Vice President of Marketing. "Based on the level of skill and the dedicated work that these students applied to their sites, we believe they will have very bright futures in whatever careers they choose."

Flores, winner of the contest's "Open" category, said he created a uniform design for www.mchs.org that provides a modern look and feel for the site. Flores' comprehensive site is designed for use by students, teachers, parents and visitors.

"A dynamic calendar, forum and search are crucial elements of interaction with the user," Flores said, "and reasons why I believe this new site lives up to the rich tradition and character of Mt. Carmel."

Flores is a well-rounded student who enjoys bowling, photography, graphic design, music composition, nature, model rockets and cars. He is a counselor at YMCA Camp MacLean, and a student mentor at Black Data Processing Associates - Chicago Chapter. His goal is to become an officer in the U.S. Army and serve in a technology and science-based field.

Keenan, who won the contest's "Teens in Technology" category, has seen his www.course-notes.org site become something of a national phenomenon during the past two years. He created the site to provide an online study resource for AP History students, because he was frustrated by the lack - or poor quality - of other such sites. "In its first year of operation, the site has reached the top ten for any relevant search engine queries, has received more than six million hits per month, and has generated feedback from students all over the country," Keenan reports.

In addition to Web designing, Keenan participates on Northside Prep's varsity soccer, swimming and volleyball teams. He hopes to expand the content of course-notes.org to include a variety of other academic subjects, before beginning his college education as a computer science major.

Other finalists honored at today's award ceremony were Edgar Antonio of St. Charles East High School, St. Charles; Daniel Conrad of Whitney Young Magnet High School, Chicago; and Patrick Murphy of Naperville Central High School, Naperville.

"The students who participated in our contest represent the next generation of professionals who will keep Chicago at the center of Web design and development," Lee predicted. "These youngsters are the people who will help society realize benefits of the Internet throughout the 21st century."

Area students representing more than 25 local high schools submitted original Web sites for judging. Contest entries were reviewed and winners selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including Michael Krauss, vice-chair of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's Council of Technology Advisors; Michael Lach, Chicago Public Schools science director; Candace Renwall, executive director of the Chicago Software Association; Kodi Khadivar of Junior Achievement/Chicago; and Hostway's Roh. Students competed on the basis of content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality and success of their Web sites.