For the first time in 18 years, a Curtis student has qualified to compete in the national 2025 Chicago Bridge Contest. Destinie Mills, a nursing student and sophomore in Ms. Jackson’s year one physics class, qualified for the national stage of the competition after coming in second place at  regionals.

The last time a Curtis student got the chance to go to Chicago was 2007. Now, it’s Destinie’s turn to bring Curtis back to a national stage. As part of an semi-annual class project, the year one physics class put together bass wood bridges, in accordance with the rules for the Chicago Bridge Contest. Destinie’s bridge scored a whopping 647.6, in efficiency and placed first among all physics classes. If the bridge received an efficiency score above 250, then the student got the chance to rebuild it in order to test it at John Bowne High School in Queens. Though Ms. Jackson typically sends at least 15 students to the regional competition, only Destinie, as well as sophomores Julissa Guzman, Lyric Nonnon, and Preston Chin, went to compete. There, on March 22nd, Destinie placed second, with an efficiency score of 1,127.16. She is one of three students representing New York, and is the only one from Staten Island.

With the national competition on April 26th, Destinie Mills is working hard to prepare. “I’m working on my third one [bridge] right now, but that’s not the one for the competition. I’m testing it here, on April 10th,” she said. This time, however, her approach is a little different. “At first, I focused on my bridge holding a lot of weight and that’s how I approached my first two bridges. The one that I’m making for nationals is more focused on efficiency, as in making it weigh less while still holding close to the same amount that it did before.”

When asked how she felt being the first Curtis student to qualify since 2007, Destinie shared: “It’s so exciting, especially not being a STEM student. That makes me feel more qualified for other things in my life.” Destinie still finds time outside the rigor of her program to continue enhancing her bridge. Ms. Jackson exclaimed, “I’m so proud of her [Destinie] and I’m so excited.”