Huntington High School business students jumped into the “shark tank” for a friendly late year competition that brought out the best in everyone.
Nearly four dozen students enrolled in the high school’s Business Management course participated in the contest. The teenagers worked for several weeks to develop an “invention” and create a business plan to bring it to market.
The three “sharks,” as the competition’s judges are known, included business teacher Paige Tyree, Principal Brenden Cusack and Huntington School Board President Thomas DiGiacomo.
Advancing to the finals were a pair of high powered entrepreneurial teams. Seniors Ryan Gaines and John Scappaticci vied with their “Forget About It” product. Juniors Thomas Peer, Cameron Mills and Noe Gomez-Calderon showcased their “LC Detector.”
The Huntington Shark Tank judges with the winning team members
The competition played out in the School Heritage Museum at Huntington High School. Participants dressed and conducted themselves as business professionals. The sharks listened to the product pitches and then had an opportunity to ask questions.
“From the beginning of the contest, the 45 participating students were brimming with ideas ranging from refreshing natural drink products to apps that can make your life easier,” Huntington business teacher Suzie Biagi said. “Excited from the start, each piece of their project portfolio culminated into a business plan and presentation for all to see.”
The final round was exciting. The team of Messrs. Peer, Mills and Gomez-Calderon captured first place honors for their innovative laser device product, which measures the height of vehicles on the road.
“It is a pole-like unit on the side of the road and measures vehicles as they pass,” the team told judges during their presentation. “We came up with this idea after experiencing an incident where our vehicle was too high for the road we were on. After this, we decided to create our product to prevent more accidents.”
The business students involved in the initiative said the experience was a worthwhile one. “They worked so hard and learned a lot about themselves in the process,” Mrs. Biagi said. “Several now believe that being an entrepreneur could be in their future.”
Some of the students used the experience to help them make decisions about what to pursue in college and beyond. “It is so much work, no wonder an ‘up and coming’ businessperson is sleep deprived and broke,” said one of the business students.
“The best and most endearing aspect for me as the teacher was the outpouring of support for each other and how in the end when the two teams were given the judge’s decision, all five boys came together to discuss how best to get the winning idea to market,” Mrs. Biagi said. “They never cease to amaze me. I am just so proud of all of them.”