Nick Cannon Foundation, Inc., in collaboration with Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in public schools nationwide.
Held its 7th Annual National America’s Teen Mogul (ATM) Competition in Southeast Queens, NY. Previous ATM pitch competitions have been held in San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Miami, and Charlotte.
The event took place on Friday, June 3, 2022, at Excelsior Preparatory High School Auditorium in Southeast Queens.
The competition, open to youth nationwide, is designed to expose youth ages 12 to 19 to global career and entrepreneurship opportunities available in the growing middle-skill job sectors.
A recently commissioned report revealed that growing job sectors in NYC include Health Care and Information and Communication Technologies. The competition encouraged students to explore global opportunities across all high-demand sectors.
More than 15 student teams nationwide from 9 school districts participated in a business plan and career readiness training workshops leading up to the grand finale event. Team reMind Me of Eagle Academy for Young Men of Harlem took 3rd place, with a $2,500 cash prize, in the highly competitive competition. Team reMind Me presented an iOS app designed to combat and address procrastination which is linked to mental health concerns like anxiety, ADHD, and depression and their effects: lack of energy, motivation, and disconnection.
The 1st place prize of $10,000 was awarded to team Alattis, of Mission Bay High School in San Diego Unified School District, who created a modern solution to virtual and hybrid videoconferencing.
The teen moguls invented the product after hearing legitimate concerns about the lack of hybrid meeting technology, experiencing how virtual students are disregarded in hybrid meetings, and watching teachers/students alike struggle to learn with conventional video conferencing software (Short video clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/kkZyYwR9fFs).
“I was truly blown away with the level of ingenuity and creativity of these teens,” said Nick Cannon.
The 2nd place prize of $5,000 went to team AppaRent, of Canyon Crest High School in San Diego’s San Dieguito Union School District. Team AppaRent created a business-to-customer retailing company featuring an instant clothing rental service online and targeting marginalized communities. The Foundation awarded Rodney Orji, Principal, Excelsior Preparatory High School, with the 2022 NCREDIBLE Administrator Award and San Diego Unified School District’s CTE Teacher, David West, with the 2022 NCREDIBLE Teaching Partner Award.
“Wells Fargo is a proud sponsor of this event because we understand how essential financial education, entrepreneurship, and innovation are to a growing and thriving economy,” said Catherine Domenech, Vice President, New York Community Relations at Wells Fargo. “By supporting the Nick Cannon Foundation and its students, we are helping to play a key role in ensuring the next generation of innovators and community leaders have access to the resources they need to be successful.”
The ATM Competition is held annually in connecting business partners with students and teachers to develop a strong foundation for the U.S. economic future. Students present products they produce and business problems they solve in collaboration with members of the local business community. Past projects have included biomedical solutions, game design apps, automotive innovations, photographic art, and robotics. More than 900 students, industry professionals, mentors, volunteers, guest speakers, and parents attended the event in Queens.
“It’s critical we create sustainable opportunities for today’s young people to explore careers in Career and Technical Education and middle-skilled employment,” said NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers.
In addition to the generous support of Nick Cannon, the ATM Competition was sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, JFK International Air Terminal (JFKIAT), and Sugar Factory Restaurant.
Photo credit: 1) Nick Cannon and Harlem students. 2) Team Alattis won the grand prize of $10,000 with a modern solution to virtual and hybrid videoconferencing. From left to right: Gina Battagliola, Nick Cannon, Ronnie Highsmith, Roel Huinink, Jacob Mandel, James Ward, Vernon Taylor, William Olsker, Catherine Domenech, Patrick Sanchez.
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