The welcoming applause and cries of “you got this!” faded. She checked her notes and took a breath.
“Hi, judges. My name is Jayonna, and my product idea is the Moodmesh Mirror.”
In February, scholars across our sites began identifying challenges in their schools, communities, and personal lives and designing solutions. They refined those ideas into pitches and recently presented them live to panels of judges.
The Pitch Challenge, run in partnership with the Young Entrepreneur Institute, is part of ODA’s entrepreneurship curriculum. Through it, scholars build financial knowledge, work through sales and marketing challenges, and gain confidence in their ability to innovate.
From elementary through high school, scholars tackled issues that mattered to them, pitching ideas like “Kinetic Electricity,” “Safelink” for personal safety, “Quit Nic Gum,” “The Hair Salon Machine,” a “Tornado Warning Interceptor,” and even a “Self-Cleaning Toilet.”
Serving as a judge at the Cleveland Heights High School semifinal, State Representative Juanita Brent was impressed by the scholars’ work.
“This is really encouraging. The future is here, and we have students being cultivated and supported through ODA,” she said. “I think my favorite part is that they were addressing real issues – mental health, infant mortality. Our young people are aware of the world around them and have ideas to address them.”
Rep. Brent watched Jayonna and her classmates deliver their pitches and ultimately selected Jayonna as the winner.
Jayonna will now move on to the Pitch Challenge Grand Final later this month.
We congratulate all our scholars on developing their ideas and taking the risk to share them. We are grateful to the board members and community partners who served as judges and continue to support scholars across our programs.
