Indiana high school students win vouchers at Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy

Michael Kokot, from left, Connor Couetil, Sydney King, Clayton Smith and Rachel Braun receive $500 college tuition vouchers at an awards ceremony Friday (June 24) during the fifth annual Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy. Their team won an investor pitch competition against nine other teams made up of Indiana high school juniors and seniors. (Purdue Research Foundation photo)

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Indiana high school juniors and seniors won college tuition vouchers for placing among the top three teams at the fifth annual Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy.

The vouchers, ranging in value from $100-$500, were presented during an awards ceremony Friday (June 24) at Purdue University's Memorial Union. The vouchers can be put toward tuition costs at Purdue. Fifty-one students from 28 Indiana counties participated in the program.

Ten teams of students received high-tech business cases at the start of the academy. During the week, students tested the technology's viability, identified capital needs and devised a management plan for the business cases.

Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, which manages the four-site Purdue Research Park network, was keynote speaker at the awards ceremony. He encouraged the attendees to apply what they learned to "make their own luck" and be successful.

"You wouldn't have given up a week of your summer vacation to get up early and go to bed late, exhausted from an intense day of learning, if you didn't have a desire to be successful," Hornett said. "What I want you to remember is that you are never too young to start your own business and to commit to the hard work of turning your dreams into reality. In this way you are making your own luck."

The weeklong academy was based on an entrepreneurship program called "So what? Who cares? Why you?" by Wendy Kennedy, a technology industry executive and former professor who has written about commercializing innovative ideas.

First place went to NovaSkin, with team members Rachel Braun, Tell City High School, Tell City; Connor Couetil, West Lafayette High School, West Lafayette; Sydney King, Guerin High School, Noblesville; Michael Kokot, Marian High School, Granger; and Clayton Smith, Tri-Central High School, Sharpsville. The team was mentored by Ahmed Amin of Microfluidic Innovations.

"After attending the academy, I feel I will most likely enter into some technology startup or even create my own company," Couetil said. "I'm extremely sure that I will start my own business and be my own employer."

Emily Peed of Ben Davis University High School in Indianapolis accepts a $500 tuition voucher from Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation. Peed won the David E. Ross Award for Entrepreneurship Distinction at an awards ceremony during the fifth annual Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy. (Purdue Research Foundation photo)

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Braun said, "I feel like I have the abilities to start my own company now, so if the opportunity ever came along I probably would take it on."

Smith said he is thinking more about attending Purdue because of winning the tuition voucher.

"I'm planning to go into pharmacy, and I may come up with a new product," he said. "I've learned a lot being at the academy. Because of this experience, I've learned about networking and speaking with people."

King said living on the Purdue University campus for a week may influence her college decision.

"I've lived on campus for a week, and I know where things are now. It was like home for a week, and I didn't feel out of place at all. That will be a major factor," she said. "Even if I don't end up in a technology or science career, I can use these skills I've learned in other areas of my life."

The David E. Ross Award for Entrepreneurial Distinction was presented to Emily Peed of Ben Davis University High School in Indianapolis and co-owner of Stupefying Handmades.

"I learned a lot during the academy that I can apply to my business in the future," she said. "Learning how to do a sales pitch, how to network and meet people are skills I can use to take my business to the next level."
Students from the second- and third-place teams and their high schools and hometowns:

* Second place, ByAlgae: Alek Jansen, Warsaw High School, Warsaw; Michelle Myers, Triton Central High School, Fountaintown; Stephen Toyra, Faith Christian High School, Lafayette; Udit Vyas, Castle High School, Newburgh; and Mattie White, Greenwood High School, Greenwood. The team was mentored by Chris Beltran of Passageways.

* Third place, Advanced Bio Chemical: Brian Anderson, West Lafayette High School, West Lafayette; Heath Goodwin, Washington High School, Washington; Lindsey Nichols, Northrop High School, Fort Wayne; Emily Peed, Ben Davis University High School, Indianapolis; and Shawn Skinner, La Porte High School, La Porte. The team was mentored by Charley Moore of Allegro Dynamics.

CanCCure: Kate Ahonen, Northridge High School, Middlebury; Jacob Denhart, Noblesville High School, Noblesville; Iseah Lloyd, Herron High School, Indianapolis; Adam Ribblett, Muncie Central High School, Muncie; and Chelsea Wieland, Columbus North High School, Columbus. The team was mentored by Jon Gortat of the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization.

First Step: Mitchell Ahaus, Richmond High School, Richmond; Marisa Beyerlein, West Lafayette High School, West Lafayette; Spencer Huffmeyer, Jac-Cen-Del High School, Osgood; Daniel Riffle, Triton High School, Etna Green; and Brianna Ruiz, Northridge High School, Bristol. The team was mentored by Shaili Sharma of Tesla Weave.

Ionic Air: David Afolabi, West Lafayette High School, West Lafayette; Connor Brashear, Washington High School, Washington; Vincent Coiro, Marian High School, South Bend; Katie Fillingsness, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers; and Daniel Moore, Monrovia High School, Mooresville. The team was mentored by Joe Trebley of the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization.

LivEasy: Jibria Ali, Merrillville High School, Merrillville; Maxwell Baum, Brownsburg High School, Brownsburg; Tayler Fisher, Triton High School, Bourbon; Aaron McNely, Muncie Central High School, Muncie; and Jacob Stucky, Benton Central High School, Oxford. The team was mentored by Mikel Berger of DelMar Information Technologies.

D.O.C.: Phillip Cowan, Jay County High School, Portland; Brianna Hibbler, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers; Jessica Hollinger, McCutcheon High School, Lafayette; Austin Kanarr, Triton High School, Bourbon; and Brian Malone, Ritter High School, Indianapolis. The team was mentored by Chris McEvoy of Purdue University's Discovery Park.

Diaglowsis: Jared Baird, Salem High School, Scottsburg; Jesse Hamm, Wabash High School, Wabash; Fritzi Pablo, Roncalli High School, Indianapolis; Caitlin Parsons, Sheridan High School, Sheridan; and Gil Stamm, Connersville High School, Connersville. The team was mentored by Michael Halbrook of the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization.

EquiRipe: Bobby Cramer, Trinity School at Greenlawn, South Bend; Cameron Kirts, Benton Central High School, West Lafayette; Rob Liu, Columbus North High School, Columbus; Danielle Robertson, Elwood High School, Elwood; and Connor Swadley, Guerin High School, Carmel. The team was mentored by Neil Mylet of LoadOut Technologies.

Participating students were from Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Clark, Daviess, Delaware, Elkhart, Fayette, Hamilton, Hendricks, Jay, Johnson, Kosciusko, Lake, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Perry, Ripley, Shelby, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vanderburgh, Wabash, Washington and Wayne counties.

Judges for the competition were Brad Addison, Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Susan Davis, Small Business Development Center; John Hertig, AMI Purdue; Terry O'Neil, Katz, Sapper & Miller; and Jacob Schpok, Indiana Small Business Development Corporation.

Academy sponsors were Accent on Business; AMI Purdue (Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Development at Purdue University); Anson Group; Arni's Restaurant; Awards Unlimited; Camille's Sidewalk Café; CSO Architects; Dairy Queen; DeFouw Chevrolet-BMW Inc.; Duke Energy; Focal Point Studios; Great Harvest Bread Co.; Greater Lafayette Commerce; Hot Box Pizza; Indiana Small Business Development Corporation; IndyWebExperts; Katz, Sapper & Miller; Knoy Apparel; Olsten Staffing; Purdue Federal Credit Union; Purdue Research Park; Sign Art Etc.; and Stuart & Branigin LLP.

The Purdue Research Park, with four locations across Indiana, has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country. The parks are home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. The park is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation.