My name is Charlie Bonner—I am a senior from Richmond, Virginia, and I am a Destination Imagination Alum. Like many of us DI’ers, I started competing as a rising star, but unlike many, I never stopped. I am happy to say that I was lucky enough to compete in DI tournaments for 13 years, finishing with one last tournament this past December at the DI Asia Pacific Beijing Invitational where my best friend and I received first place in the National Geographic Challenge. We were incredibly lucky to win many times over the years, but that’s not to say that my team was naturally good, in fact, for a long time we never won anything, but this all changed when I met Ben White.
Ben was a DI alum, and we met through my middle school drama class where he helped out, we instantly bonded over a shared love for DI. Ben started coming to our team meetings, sharing with us things he had learned over the years. There were little things like what makes the perfect Duct Tape vest, or huge things like how surface area affects the buoyancy of a boat (I’m still unclear as to how we would use this information, but I now know a lot about buoyancy nonetheless). Ben opened our eyes to a whole new world of possibilities; just by sharing the simple things that DI had taught him. That was the year we first went to states and then to Globals. After that we would compete at Globals 3 more times, including a win for Project Outreach, a win that would not have been possible without the spark of imagination that Ben provided for our team.
After 13 incredible years, its time for me to pay that same favor forward. For that reason I created a site where DI alumni can connect with teams from across the country in a virtual mentoring program called, I Did DI...And So Can You! Alumni will be split up based on their specific area of interest, from improv, to project outreach, even to structure (which for the safety of everyone I will steer clear of), teams will then be able to connect with these alumni online to ask questions, get tips, or just to share stories about why DI is so wonderful.
Anybody that has ever done DI knows that there is something special in being on a team. There is something special about winning a trophy for thinking outside the box. There is something special in that moment when you know you have solved a problem in a way never before fathomed. There is something special in DI. As alumni we have all benefited so much from those that have come before us, and we owe it to those mentors, whoever they may be, to inspire others. So I invite you tell your friends about IDidDI.weebly.com and join me in sparking the imaginations of a whole new generation of future Global Champions.
If you have any questions or feedback for me, I would love to hear from you! My email is [email protected]
Ben was a DI alum, and we met through my middle school drama class where he helped out, we instantly bonded over a shared love for DI. Ben started coming to our team meetings, sharing with us things he had learned over the years. There were little things like what makes the perfect Duct Tape vest, or huge things like how surface area affects the buoyancy of a boat (I’m still unclear as to how we would use this information, but I now know a lot about buoyancy nonetheless). Ben opened our eyes to a whole new world of possibilities; just by sharing the simple things that DI had taught him. That was the year we first went to states and then to Globals. After that we would compete at Globals 3 more times, including a win for Project Outreach, a win that would not have been possible without the spark of imagination that Ben provided for our team.
After 13 incredible years, its time for me to pay that same favor forward. For that reason I created a site where DI alumni can connect with teams from across the country in a virtual mentoring program called, I Did DI...And So Can You! Alumni will be split up based on their specific area of interest, from improv, to project outreach, even to structure (which for the safety of everyone I will steer clear of), teams will then be able to connect with these alumni online to ask questions, get tips, or just to share stories about why DI is so wonderful.
Anybody that has ever done DI knows that there is something special in being on a team. There is something special about winning a trophy for thinking outside the box. There is something special in that moment when you know you have solved a problem in a way never before fathomed. There is something special in DI. As alumni we have all benefited so much from those that have come before us, and we owe it to those mentors, whoever they may be, to inspire others. So I invite you tell your friends about IDidDI.weebly.com and join me in sparking the imaginations of a whole new generation of future Global Champions.
If you have any questions or feedback for me, I would love to hear from you! My email is [email protected]