Left: Finalists Michael Drzyzga and Joseph Standicki, with Top Winner, Caitlin Reilly, all from Central Massachusett


Imagining Tomorrow Awards for 2006

The awards reception took place on Friday, May 26th.  The top story was "Little Green Riding Hood" by Caitlin Reilly, a senior from Chicopee High School. 

Thank you to the generosity of our speakers for their time: State Repesentative J. James Marzilli, Jr. and Dr. Linda Plano from the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC).  As well, a great thank you to the Genzyme Corporation for providing the venue, and to Rick Mattila, head of Genzyme Environmental Affairs, for attending and for his comments. 

Please note that PDF files for these stories may be downloaded for personal use or for classroom use.  However, the copyright is retained by the authors, and Imagining Tomorrow, and the stories may not be distributed commercially.

"Please don’t let us down. . . I’m young, and I need a real future."

—A character in Distraction, by B. Sterling

Top Story

Congratulations to Caitlin Reilly, a senior at Chicopee High School for Little Green Riding Hood, a delightful take-off on the old fairy tale.

Number Two (tie):

Congratulations to Katherine Kinkel (left), a freshman at Wellesley High School for Hielo y Mentiras (Ice and Lies), a compelling story of two people struggling to survive a new North American Ice Age.

And congratulations to Kim Pham (right) a junior at Quincy High School for Driven to Near Extinction, a story about deforestation.

Number Three (another tie):

Congratulations to Emily Allen, a sophomore at Arlington High School for Son of the Apocalypse, a powerful story about a mother whose son is dying.

And congratulations to Paul Jaffe, also a sophomore at Arlington High School, for Sweat, a story about the environmental costs of some strategies, and also a little about environmental imperialism.

Remaining Top Eleven (in order):

Congratulations to:

Blaire Andres, a sophomore at The Bromfield School, in Harvard, MA for Not With A Bang, But a Whimper, a story about the final result of choosing by not choosing.

Shinjini Kundu, a sophomore at Amherst Regional High School for A Glimpse of the Future, a treatise on alternatives with vignettes jumping forward in time and place.

Michael Drzyzga, a senior at the Chicopee Comprehensive High School for The Last Scientist, a story of lost technology, and many people's favorite story.

Amanda Bennett, an eighth grader at Frontier Regional School in South Deerfield, for Keredy's Cape Cod, a story inspired by current events.

Colleen M. Ottomano, a sophomore at Hopkinton High School for Shadow of the Past, Glimmer of the Future, a story of a much more stable world -- following a substantial political struggle.

Alison M. Crandall, Lee Middle and High School for Ending the Apocalypse, a post-apocalyptic world that follows when struggles over resources turn to nuclear weapons.

And congratulations to the remaining finalists, in alphabetical order by first name:

Charlie Q. Wade, a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for Hurricane; a young man's life is changed forever in South Florida.

Jeremy Zorrilla De Los Santos, a junior at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School for The Future Unraveled, a story about how to get from here to there.

Joanna R. Grubman, a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for "Bedtime Story"; a girl reminisces while reading to her little sister before bed (link withdrawn).

Johannes Oltmanns, a junior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for The World in 2056, a world familiar but changed.

Johnny Melendez/Mark Duhamel, freshmen at Brockton High School for Energy, not a story, but a fascinating overview.

Joseph Stadnicki, a senior at Chicopee Comprehensive High School for Life After Tragedy, a family tries to regroup after the disruption of a catastrophic melting.

Justin Gadek, a senior at Chicopee Comprehensive High School for Who Needs Oil Anyway?, the increasing disparity between U.S. policy and that of the rest of the world leads to total isolation and a repressionistic regime.

Kaitlynn L. Drees, a freshman at Lee Middle and High School for Alaskan Adventure, a family vacation turns into an encounter with an oil spill.

Keith Chung, a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for A Morning in 2040.

Mitsuteru Irie, a junior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for The Spiritual Revolution; a grandfather reminisces about a worldwide change in priorities.

Mtalika W. Banda, a freshman at Brockton High School for Consumption, a struggle between political and economic rulers and a change of perspective.

Thomas Christie, a sophomore at The Frances Parker Charter School in Devens, MA for Short Story; a changed world of resignation, unemployment and unending rain.

Tom Murray, a freshman at Millbury Memorial High School for Project Save Earth: Try or Die; a story of how we finally reached fusion as an energy source.

Tumpale N. Ngwira, a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon School for Unwanted Changes, a quarrel over a family dinner about changes that have occurred.

Two Honorable Mentions:

The Life of an Australian Family, P. Chakraborty, Woodward School for Girls

World-Wide Blackout, S. Rydell, Lee Middle and High School