Peter Lanse's entry beat more than 130 submissions from five states and 46 EAST programs. His logo features a young man traversing through a field with a walking stick. It was inspired by a video game and the national conference theme: "Building a path. Leaving a trail."

Project Environmental and Spatial Technology is a project-based, service-learning program that teaches students the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills needed in the 21st century workplace.

The program is offered at every Maui public high school and on Molokai. Maui students have attended the national conference for several years, bringing home national prizes for community service projects.

A committee made up of EAST staff, board members, school officials from participating states and representatives of a number of business partners at the national conference narrowed the field of 130-plus entries down to 10 finalists for the 2008 logo contest.

Lanse's logo emerged as the winner for next year's conference, scheduled for February in Hot Springs, Ark.

This is the first time a Maui student's artwork has been selected for the conference logo.

"It was amazing. I was so excited when I won," Lanse said.

Winning the logo contest marked the first time Lanse has earned such an honor as an individual. Last year, he and a group of students earned a prize at a stock market simulation competition.

For the upcoming national conference, King Kekaulike will send its best EAST projects and students, including Lanse and classmate Kai Rayburn who teamed up to create a Web site for Photoshop tutorials.

Lanse's facilitator, Emily Haines-Swatek, said she was gratified to see a student combine his interest in art and graphics with computer and technology skills learned through EAST.

"He loves Photoshop, and it's really, really exciting to see him do something with it," Haines-Swatek said.

Lanse, who has been enrolled in EAST for a little more than two years, said he plans to attend college after high school and eventually "do something in computers." The 17-year-old lives in Haiku with his mother, Julie Lanse.

The local EAST programs are supported by Maui County and Women in Technology, a statewide initiative of the Maui Economic Development Board, and funded in part by the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Education and Labor as a work force initiative.

Haines-Swatek said students will be doing a little bit of fundraising to help pay for their costs to attend the national conference scheduled for Feb. 19 to 21. Donations for the EAST program will be accepted from the general public. To make a donation, contact Haines-Swatek at King Kekaulike at 573-8710.