March 31, 2025 | Atlanta, GA
The team of Georgia Institute of Technology’s innovative educational platform EarSketch is happy to announce the winners of our “A Radical Act” remix competition for students across the United States. In this competition, hosted in partnership with the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream, Roku, the Renee Montgomery Foundation, Storyform, and Future Roots Radio, students remixed sounds from the soundtrack to the film “A Radical Act.”
The film follows Renee Montgomery’s inspiring journey as a WNBA player who takes the radical step to opt out of the league to become a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Dream. It explores her background, basketball success, and the activism that defines her. In the competition, students also reflected on their own “radical act” of self-empowerment in the message of their song remix.
The winning remixes have been posted online and can be heard here.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER:
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Hope Maciel
Teacher: Ms. Wozniak | Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
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D. Williams
Teacher: Ms. Wozniak | Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL -
Aaden Dawa
Teacher: Mr. Corkhill | St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, CA -
Maks Przybyl
Teacher: Ms. Remess | Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL -
Dylan Jocky
Teacher: Ms. Muller | Fort Greene Preparatory Academy, Brooklyn, NY -
Nathan Jasso
Teacher: Ms. Wozniak | Lane Tech High School, Chicago, IL
First-place winner Hope Maciel said the competition’s theme resonated with him and his life. “I learned about the importance of putting max effort into everything, whether it's small or big things. I wasn't expecting to win, but I liked trying and putting effort into a song that could've just been a small school project I'd forget about. I reminded myself of the importance of life and taking every opportunity it offers.”
Winners were chosen from more than 300 entries from across the United States. Prizes for winners included Amazon gift cards, a swag bag from the Atlanta Dream, and a one-on-one session with “A Radical Act” soundtrack producer Aaron Drake. Amazon Future Engineer was a sponsor for some of the competition prizes.
“The EarSketch competition empowers students to remix beats and create the soundtrack to their own radical act — whether that’s self-expression, storytelling, or community action," said Sabrina Grossman, EarSketch team member and program director with Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC). “By coding music, they’re not just making songs; they’re amplifying their voices, pushing creative boundaries both in the future of music and technology.”
Since launching in 2011, the free EarSketch platform has been used by more than one million users, including students in all 50 U.S. states and in more than 100 countries. The music/coding platform was created at Georgia Tech by Interim Associate Vice Provost for the Arts Jason Freeman and Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Professor Brian Magerko and is designed to teach students to code in Python or JavaScript through music and creative discovery.
EarSketch has also received support from the National Science Foundation, which awarded a $3 million grant to the team in 2014 and a further $2.1 million grant in 2018 to add an artificial intelligence-driven “co-creative” tab to the platform. The project also has received funding from the Scott Hudgens Family Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the Google Inc. Fund of Tides Foundation. EarSketch was highlighted by the White House in 2016 among its Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) national initiatives.
—Randy Trammell, CEISMC Communications
