BGSU hosts inaugural Hatch Junior

In collaboration with Believe in Ohio, the BGSU Dallas-Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and STEM program  presented the inaugural Hatch Junior event on April 28.  

During a 10-week program, 370 students from four different Toledo high schools including Start, Bowsher, Rogers and Jones Leadership Academy as well as students from Chase STEMM Academy are paired with mentors from BGSU. 

They are working to create a STEM business and commercialization plan. The program serves as a way for urban students to gain hands-on experience and exposure to STEM disciplines, enhanced with entrepreneurial tools. Individuals and teams pitched 14 business ideas to a panel of judges at The Hatch Junior. Judges include Dan Slifko, Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Ventures; Andrea Lyons, Marketing Maven for Impact Marketing and Communications; and Jim Phipps, Serial Entrepreneur.

Three of the 14 business ideas were selected as winners of the 2016 Hatch Junior. First place and $500 went to Caitlin Yanney and Destinee Therrian for their idea, Shark Detecting Buoy.

Second place and $250 was awarded to Brandon Smith and  Malcolm Richardson for their Diablo Canyon Water Solution as well as Natassja Gresham and Brittany McDuffie for their organic, non-tarnish, handmade jewelry.