Pope educator, DI appraiser makes bucket-list trip to Global Finals

When Jackie Shea signed up to appraise a local Destination Imagination competition in 2012, she thought she was simply fulfilling GT update hours. A decade later, she can’t stop talking about DI.

“I had no clue what I was getting into,” said Shea, a special education case manager at the Pope Elementary. “I loved it. I know I drive people crazy because I get really geeked out about it. DI is such an amazing program that I wish more people knew about.”

 

In two weeks, Shea will check off an ultimate goal when she serves as an appraiser for the Instant Challenge at the DI Global Finals, set for May 21-24 in Kansas City, Mo. The first in-person Global Finals since 2019 will welcome participants from 48 states and 30 different countries. Shea was one of 100 volunteers selected globally to appraise Instant Challenge, and is the only one representing CFISD.

“It’s pretty amazing,” she said. “I have been waiting five years to go, and obviously COVID threw us off for the last two years.”

To be eligible to appraise at Globals, Shea had to appraise in the regional competition for two years, then the state competition and earn a Global appraiser nomination from her Regional Director. In 2015, she was appointed as a Gulf Coast region “Challenge Master,” meaning she can coordinate teams to oversee assigned challenge sites at a DI tournament. Only two people in each of Texas’s 17 regions have this designation.

The Instant Challenge portion of the DI competition allows teams to show off their creative problem-solving skills as they work together and think on their feet to solve a problem in fewer than seven minutes. It counts for 25% of a team’s total score at a DI competition.

“To watch them solve problems in seven minutes in ingenious ways … there are days my jaw is on the floor,” Shea said. “You’ll think, ‘These 8-year-olds thought of that?!’ I love to see their resourcefulness, their respect among teammates, problem-solving skills, etc. No one can be a wallflower—all must contribute to get those points. Everything they do is tangible to lifelong skills for success.”

Due to her leadership role, Shea is unable to coach teams in CFISD, but said she is always willing to work with teams who need help or facilitate trainings and challenge prep courses. She encourages everyone to get involved by speaking to their DI liaison on campus or even emailing her at jacqueline.shea@cfisd.net.

“Every year we struggle to get volunteers,” she said. “The tournament is a one-day commitment and it’s the best PD you will ever get in your life.”

Shea hopes that her upcoming Global Finals trip is the first of many.

“I’m excited to see the elevated level of competition,” she said. “These kids at Globals are the cream of the crop.”

Learn more at idodi.org.