Riley Underwood, second from left, and Kyle Hollars, third from left — both students at Mabel School in Watauga County who compose team Sunlight Foods — pose with Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the WCOB’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, far left, and Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore. Underwood and Hollars won an honorable mention in the middle school category of Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition for their idea of developing a food market in Zionville that would offer healthy options for area residents. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the WCOB’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, far left, and Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore, far right, pose with Solar Squad team members, pictured from left to right, Cole Rumfelt, John Fields Perkins, Grayson Watson and Grayson Huffman. The students, who attend Ashe County Middle School, won an honorable mention in Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition for their business idea of a phone case that uses solar panels to power the phone. Each student received a $50 scholarship. Other team members not pictured: Preston Trivette and Stanley Burgess. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the WCOB’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, far left, poses with Tate Ward, second from left, Sarah Greene, third from left, and Chloe McClure, fourth from left, who compose team Purpose. Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore, also joined the group photo. The students, who attend Bethel Middle School in Watauga County, won first place for their idea of an organic, homemade sanitizer spray. The team created a prototype and allowed the judges to try out the spray during the competition. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Members of team Hum Inc. pose with Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship in the WCOB, far left, and Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore, far right. The team, which won second place during Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition, include, pictured from left to right, Amber Hamby, Emily Perez, Hannah Millsaps and Jake Hawkins, all of whom attend Bethel Middle School. The students pitched their idea of creating organic, homemade beauty products; the proceeds of the products would help support the Hummingbird Society. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Members of team Eagle Eye, which include Hailey Parsons, second from left, Luke Shepard, third from left, and Andrew Borlow, fourth from left, pose with the certificate they received for placing third in the middle school category in Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition. Also posing with the students are Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the WCOB’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, far left, and Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore. The students, who all attend West Wilkes Middle School, won third place for their idea to make a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that tracks student attendance in schools to improve school security and engagement. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship in the WCOB, far left, and members of the C & Ds Pedals team — Cassandra Gilbert, second from left, and Dacey Triplett, third from left — pose with Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore. The West Wilkes High School students won first place in Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition for their car pedal extension device that makes it possible for shorter individuals to reach a car’s pedals when driving. The students collaborated with their school’s metal working shop to create a functioning prototype. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the WCOB’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship, far left, poses with the students of team Convenience Seat — pictured from left to right, Madyson Golden, Brooke Church, Mckenzie Johnson and Makayla Cornelius. Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore, also poses with the group. Golden, Church, Johnson and Cornelius attend North Wilkes High School in Wilkes County and took second place in Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition for their idea to build a platform that fits over a car seat and provides children with a surface on which to eat and play. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
Jonathan Carpenter, assistant director of the Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship in Appalachian’s WCOB, far left, and members of team Translating Ear Buds, pictured from left to right, Stacy Shumate, Keli Casstevens and Hannah Vickers, pose with Robert E. “Bob” Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore. Shumate, Casstevens and Vickers, who attend North Wilkes High School in Wilkes County, were awarded third place in Appalachian’s GEAR UP Pitch Competition for their idea to create a set of earbuds that translates audio in various languages into the wearer’s native language. Photo by Sabrina Cheves
BOONE, N.C. — An organic, homemade sanitizer spray and a car pedal extension device took the top spots in the inaugural GEAR UP Pitch Competition at Appalachian State University in late April. During the competition, middle and high school students from Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties pitched their innovative business ideas for a chance to earn scholarships to Appalachian. The event took place on Appalachian’s campus, in the Plemmons Student Union’s Greenbriar Theatre.
The competition was created in partnership with Appalachian’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship (TICFE), which is housed in the university’s Walker College of Business (WCOB), Appalachian’s GEAR UP program, which is part of College Access Partnerships at Appalachian, and regional school systems in Western North Carolina.
“Appalachian offers a unique approach to growing entrepreneurship and economic development in the community,” said Jonathan Carpenter, TICFE assistant director. “Programs like the GEAR UP Pitch Competition help support local youth to begin pursuing their passions early.”
More than 20 teams participated in the competition, presenting for five to 10 minutes per team to a panel of entrepreneurs and university faculty and staff. The teams were then scored on their idea, pitch, research and prototype. High school students were also scored on the financial viability of their business ideas.
Ideas pitched included a homemade, organic sanitizer spray, a phone case that uses solar panels to power the phone and a car pedal extension device.
Scholarships were awarded to the top three teams in both high school and middle school categories. The funding for the scholarships was made possible by a donation from LifeStore Bank, a full-service banking and insurance provider based in Boone.
“As a hometown banking and insurance company, LifeStore supports and encourages young people to explore possibilities,” said Judy Current, marketing and public relations director for LifeStore.
While on campus, the students, along with their teachers and family members, were given tours of Appalachian’s campus and the WCOB by Walker Fellows — current Appalachian business students who helped the students learn what it’s like to be a student at Appalachian.
Social entrepreneurship lecturer Jesse Pipes, who teaches in Appalachian’s Department of Management, offered comments about the growth mindset and provided key concepts for young entrepreneurs, and then helped present the awards to the winning student teams.
“Our goal is to inspire and prepare future entrepreneurs by providing them a regional platform where they can share their ideas in a collaborative and competitive environment,” Carpenter said.
Middle and high school students who placed first in the competition were each awarded a $100 scholarship, and those who placed second received a $75 scholarship each. Third-place winners each received a $50 scholarship. This funding will become available to the students upon their acceptance to Appalachian.
Additionally, two middle school teams — Solar Squad and Sunlight Foods — were recognized with honorable mentions, and the team members each received a $50 scholarship. Team Solar Squad pitched the idea of a phone case that uses solar panels to power the phone, and team Sunlight Foods proposed the idea of developing a food market in Zionville that would offer healthy options for area residents.
About College Access Partnerships
College Access Partnerships (CAP) is housed in the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University and comprises programs in college access and educator professional learning, including Appalachian GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), Upward Bound, Appalachian College Advising Corps, Empowering Teacher Learning, Young Eisner Scholars (YES), GREAT STEM and On Ramp Appalachia. These programs aim to prepare students throughout Western North Carolina to engage in postsecondary learning that provides opportunities for careers in their home region and beyond. For more information, visit gocollege.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian’s Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship
The Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship at Appalachian State University was founded in 2006 and is housed within the university’s Walker College of Business. The center helps Appalachian students — regardless of major — faculty, staff and alumni conceive, develop, incubate and launch new business ventures, turning their ideas into reality. In 2011, the center was rebranded to include Transportation Insight in its name to acknowledge a $1 million gift that enabled the center’s renovation, as well as 10 years of funding. Transportation Insight is a nationally recognized third-party logistics (3PL) company specializing in supply chain management. Learn more at https://entrepreneurship.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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