BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge native Czarina Walker, who grew a company she started as a teenager into one of Louisiana's top tech firms, will be the featured speaker at the Louisiana Elementary Math Olympiad on Saturday, November 7, 2015, to be held at the Kenilworth Science and Technology School, 7600 Boone Dr., in Baton Rouge.
The Olympiad, often referred to as the "old school math" contest that measures students' abilities to add, subtract, multiply and divide using only a pencil and paper, is open to all 5th grade students in Louisiana.
Walker is the founder and CEO of InfiniEDGE Software, a Prairieville, LA-based firm specializing in custom software development, mobile and web-based apps for complex processes on oil rigs, at energy companies, environmental engineering sites and other industries. Walker also serves on the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) Board of Directors and has served as Chairman of the Board for the Ascension Chamber of Commerce, the Louisiana Technology Council (LTC) and Volunteer Ascension.
"Our school science fairs have all but disappeared in a time when science is needed more than ever for our next generation of students to have great quality jobs and fully participate in future innovation," Walker said. "Kenilworth is a phenomenal example of science promoted as a sport that all students can participate in and bring their own creativity to."
Registration for the Olympiad is free and open to any 5th grade student attending any public, private, parochial, charter or home school in Louisiana. Student prizes include an iPod Touch, Kindle Fire, Kindle and an iPod Shuffle. Teachers of the top students can win gift cards.
The concept behind the Olympiad is to encourage students to participate in STEM studies and to celebrate their successes. The Olympiad is a one-hour paper and pencil test that includes multiple-choice questions that are aligned with Common Core standards. The Olympiad also will include door prizes, lunch and parents workshops.
The Olympiad is sponsored by Coca Cola, and partners include the LSU Department of Mathematics, Southern University Department of Math and Science, Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance.
Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School is a state-sanctioned charter school with an academic focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. Formerly a part of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, Kenilworth has demonstrated consistent academic growth since its conversion to a charter school in 2009.
