Second place can be a drag, especially if it was by a small margin. But second place is anything but a drag when it’s in the world.

Senior Dylan Brewer recently took second place in Scenario Writing for the Future Problem Solving Program International.

FPSPI is a program whose mission is to develop the ability of young people globally to design and promote positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking.

“FPS is all about analyzing problems and generating creative solutions,” Brewer said.

Brewer competed in the Scenario Writing event. This event requires a student to write a futuristic story based on one of the current year’s Future Problem Solving topics.

This year’s topics were: the impact of social media, processed foods, propaganda, and enhancing human potential.

Students could also write about last year’s international topic, space. Each scenario had to be at least 1,500 words and set at least 20 years in the future.

The scenario was submitted for review in January.

Brewer’s scenario, Cyborg Society, was about a dystopian future where human enhancement is more common than natural features. Technology has changed the world so radically that it causes problems for those raised without it.

Brewer’s scenario took first at the state level and took second at the international level.

“Having the opportunity to represent Michigan and the United States at the international competition was truly an honor,” Brewer said.

An Australian student won the top prize, and a student from Wisconsin finished behind Brewer for third-place honors.

According to Brewer, this achievement was a result of years of hard work.

“I’ve been in FPS for years,” Brewer said. “All of that practice has definitely paid off.”