Creating The Future Scholarship

The "Creating the Future" scholarship was established in 2010 in honor of Dr. E. Paul Torrance, creativity guru and founder of Future Problem Solving Program. FPS is an international competitive program in which students apply a problem solving process to situations involving global issues, to current issues in schools and communities, and to visions of the future through storytelling.

The scholarship recognizes a current FPS student who is graduating from secondary school. Applicants generally have many years of participation in competitive Future Problem Solving, often in more than one component. In addition, they have shown exceptional dedication to the program through actions that embody the skills of a creative problem solver and/or support the program in their geographic area.

2022 Creating the Scholarship Recipients

Isabella Colindres from Florida is a winner of the Creating the Future Scholarship. Isabella is an accomplished FPSer winning many awards at the Affiliate and International levels. She is a participant in all of the components of FPS. Isabella describes the impact FPS has on her life. The topic "It's All in the Genes" from 2016 introduced me to genetics. Learning how DNA could be modified piqued my interest in biology. I then decided to focus on biology in the International Baccalaureate program. Last year, personalized medicine became my favorite topic. The idea that the human genome could be studied to create custom-built treatments is fascinating. Personalized medicine became my topic for my scenario writing piece and my scenario performance. Over the summer of 2021, I took "Fundamentals of Cancer Biology & Careers in Science" at the University of Florida. This course focused on the genetics aspect of cancer and discussed many treatment options. I have realized that my future goal is to work in precision medicine and become a pediatric oncologist. We wish Isabella continued success in her chosen profession.

Darren Chan from California is a winner of the Creating the Future Scholarship. Darren is an accomplished FPSer advancing to the Affiliate level every year he competed. Daren also evaluates for California. Darren describes the impact FPS has on his life. “I fell in love with the State Bowl GIPS topic of Personalized Medicine. Personalized medicine seemed to appeal to me in just the right places. An emerging medical model, it leverages minute interactions between drugs and genes to create cutting-edge treatments, but faces both economic and social hurdles to implementation including underrepresentation of racial minorities in clinical trials …. In college, I hope to major in biomedical engineering to study both genomics and pharmacology.” We wish Darren continued success in his chosen career.

Brianna Reilly from New Jersey is a winner of the Creating the Future Scholarship. Brianna has been a competitor in both team and individual Global Issues. Currently, she serves her Affiliate as a coach and evaluator. Brianna describes the skills she learned from FPS. “FPS had given me an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and the belief that I one day could be one of the scientists that developed the latest medical technology in the topic suggested readings. Cognizant of everything that FPS gave me, I wanted to share its wonders with others, so I began working as a volunteer coach within the same school district I began my journey in FPS at. It was incredible to see the wonder in the eyes of my students as they delved into research topics they found passions within, and as they searched for solutions to real world challenges. Above all, I tried to instill in my students the same message that has been the root of my passion for the program all along; we have the ability to create a better future.” We wish Brianna continued success in her future in medicine.

2022 Creating the Scholarship Recipients

Previous Scholarship Recipients

Anjika Jain

Hannah Schleibinger

Kate Wang

Malika Rawal

Pranav Senthilvel

Aarushi Patil

Eleanor Liu

Tahi Wiggins