Four Elevate Oregon students were able to attend the Young Entrepreneurs Business Week at Oregon State University in July. This overnight camp provides an intensive leadership and business development experience for high school students. Over 100 juniors and seniors from all over Oregon participated, working in small teams to develop a business proposal that was presented to their peers and local business leaders. Our students reported that the camp was packed with educational speakers and activities, keeping them busy from 7am until 9pm each day.
Not only did the participants come up with some pretty creative product ideas, but each team had to think through all the details needed to create a sustainable company, including a budget, logo, and administration plan and board structure. One of our students was part of a team that developed a plan to create and market a jacket that changes colors in response to environmental changes in order to effectively moderate temperature. Another group focused on designing the ideal wrist band to record physiological measurements.
When Elevate staff picked up the students at the end of the week, they were tired but inspired! Our students were able to take advantage of this valuable experience at no cost to them, and they received college credit upon completion of the camp.