Hempstead High School student Maxwell Hoden and Dubuque Senior High School student Nora Nieto were declared Trig-Stars for their respective high schools for the 2024-2025 academic year during a recent competition organized by the City of Dubuque Engineering Department. Each will receive a $200 award from the Society of Land Surveyors of Iowa (SLSI), donated by local contractors and land surveying firms. Hoden will also be awarded an additional $150 from local sponsors for placing first among all Dubuque Schools.

Second-place winners at each high school were Bruce Coakley at Hempstead and Seattle Bontemps at Senior. They also will receive monetary awards of $150 from local sponsors. Third-place winners at each high school were Mazin Imran at Hempstead and Jackson Kieffer at Senior. They also will receive monetary awards of $100 from local sponsors.

A “Trig-Star” is a mathematics student who demonstrates skill in the practical application of trigonometry. The competition is a timed exercise, involving solving trigonometry problems by incorporating the use of right triangle formulas, the law of sines, and the law of cosines. Hundreds of students from dozens of high schools participate in Trig-Star competitions across Iowa each year. State winners qualify to take the national test, a chance to win up to $2000 in additional prize money, and a trip to the national convention for professional surveyors.  This year, 20 students competed in the competitions sponsored by the City of Dubuque.

The Trig-Star competition is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors, the Society of Land Surveyors of Iowa, local licensed land surveyors, and area contractors. Local sponsors of the competition included:

• Buesing and Associates, Inc.
• Craig Geiser, Land Surveyor
• Portzen Construction, Inc.
• Origin Design
• Ron Turner, Lot Lines Etc.
• Strand Associates, Inc.
• Top Grade Excavating, Inc.

Prior to the competition, the City of Dubuque Engineering Department staff presented land surveying topics and procedures to interested math and calculus students. These presentations introduce students to the land surveying profession.