An entrepreneurial student won $2,500 at an awards ceremony for entrepreneurs on Wednesday for creating a device to collect energy from ocean waves.
Nicholas Shrout took first prize in AACC’s Big Idea competition after submitting a video pitch about the original idea to a “Shark Tank”-style panel of judges. Students competed for the top prize.
Shrout said the Wave Rider resulted from research that focused on alternative ways to generate renewable energy.
“The problem with wind and solar are that these sources aren’t always available,” Shrout said in a two-minute video pitch. “Furthermore, the demand for electricity is outpacing the rate that these sources can provide electricity.”
Every semester, the Big Idea competition, hosted by AACC’s Entrepreneurial Studies Institute, rewards students for ideas that solve a problem or create a convenience, according to Stephanie Goldenberg, the academic chair of entrepreneurial studies.
The second-place winner, entrepreneurial student Katherine Michelle Paunlagui, took home $1,000 for Techies for the Oldies, a service to help senior citizens solve technical problems with their computers and iPhones.
Two $500 winners were students April Mills, who won $500 for Finding Silence, which offers outdoor yoga and gardening classes for senior citizens and children, and Gavin Kesselring, whose startup Peake Technology Labs offers affordable rentals of high-quality equipment like computers, cameras and software.
Before escorting participants to a post-ceremony reception, Goldenberg took a moment to praise the “professors, mentors, staff, and all the members of our ESI business management team,” Goldenberg said. “You took time to meet with students, provide feedback and guidance, and record pitch videos. … Even if it’s not their talent or skill they were doing it and encouraging students to submit to the competition.”
One contestant called the process of creating a business plan and pitching ideas to the judges “a fantastic experience.”
“I would recommend that anyone just try it and go for it,” Mandee Tejada, a second-year massage therapist student, said. “My son is actually the one who encouraged me to do it. He’s 13, and we had an idea, we kind of ran with it. But it allowed me to tap into confidence and kind of develop that.”
Tejada pitched her idea for The Gathering Place, an event space for rent.
“Whether you’re an artist looking to showcase your work, a retired veteran wanting to share your life stories, an entrepreneur eager to test new ideas, or an enthusiast passionate about a project who simply wants to enjoy it with others … you’ll find your home” in the rental space, Tejada said.
To close the event, business professor Steve Berry announced the 25 new scholarship recipients who will receive $12,000 each, along with networking and mentoring.
Berry noted, “It’s not just about the money. It’s about the connections. It’s about the people that help you bring your idea to fruition, to move it foward.”
