Birmingham Metro Area High School Wins $25,000 Esports Lab

ALABASTER, AL — Thompson High School is one of just 25 high schools across the country that will receive a $25,000 esports lab on its campus from the High School Esports League. Hundreds of schools applied.

"The overwhelming response from educators everywhere truly humbled us," the HSEL said in a statement Wednesday. "We had the opportunity to learn a lot about our applicants and read some amazing stories, but there could only be 25 winners."

HSEL leadership will visit each school to teach students about computer design and instruction and teams will then build their own computers for the Esports lab. HSEL is calling their trip around the nation to visit the winning schools the "HSEL Roadshow."

"It is important that we work to engage students in a way that builds life-long enthusiasm and excitement," said Jason Kirby, president of Generation Esports. "With the HSEL Roadshow, we not only get to directly teach students life-long lessons on computer building and maintenance but also give them the opportunity to get hands-on experience with esport gaming, potentially setting them up for a future career. We hope that this tour helps bring some excitement to schools as we hopefully achieve some normalcy again as we approach the spring and summer."