Aug. 5, 2026- Toms River Regional high schoolers Zach Wistreich, Jack Weber, Cormac Butler, Sydney Cafiero, Isabella Cutillo, Victoria Cutillo, and former TR student Christian Ntim participated in the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) at Disney World in Florida July 29 through Aug. 3. They had earned their place at the event via the East Coast Regionals that were held at High School East earlier this year, and were chaperoned by teachers Christine Girtain, Jessica Kurtz, and Marybeth Kretz.

In addition to Toms River's brightest, the attending East Coast team also included Newark Science Park High School student Thyna Almeida; Old Bridge High School’s Richa Baheti; Holmdel High School’s Sophia Barwicz; Manalapan High School’s Ahaana Budhiraja, Avvin Budhiraja, Rishith Kilaru, and Devika Lakhotia; and MAST students Jason Samuel, Daniel Chiu, Dolan Donigan, and Noah Eckert. The East Coast team was led by Girtain, who also served as CEO of company Dougeldyne. TRRS alumni played prominent roles, too, with Liam Mahon acting as assistant CEO of Vulture, and Logan Figular serving as assistant CEO of the company Rockdonell.

Toms River students worked in the Rockdonnell and Vulture companies. Each company is provided with managers, technical experts from industry, and former participants to serve as CEO and advisors. A customer organization, typically called the Foundation Society, defines requirements in a Request for Proposal (RFP) for developing a design for a specific scenario for each event.

Students must work together to define an overall structure and construction methods, determine quantities of electrical power and water, design computer and robotics systems, specify allocation of interior space, show examples of pleasant community design, and provide estimated costs and schedules for completion of the project. The competition concludes with each companies’ presentation of their settlement to a panel of industry professional judges which selects the proposal that best fits their needs as detailed in the RFP.

The awards presentations concluded at Hollywood Studies when Mickey Mouse himself joined the celebration to announce that— drumroll please— Rockdonnell won! Congratulations to graduating STEAM Academy seniors Jack and Cormac, as well as MAST students Jason, Daniel, Dolan, and Noah for winning the Internationals. It was no doubt a job well done by the entire East Coast team, and surely an unforgettable experience for Toms River students. Additional photos from the ISSDC are below.