Young entrepreneurs pitch big ideas at Highlands Middle School Business Fair

Highlands Middle School became a hub of entrepreneurs as students pitched products ranging from custom shoe designs and smart door technology to devices aimed at cleaning oceans and sanitizing towels. 

The popular Business Fair, held Wednesday evening in the North Gym, highlighted how students can identify everyday problems and develop solutions through the mxINCedu entrepreneurial program led by teacher Ina Pascal.

The program empowers students to develop innovative ideas, solve real-world problems and build business skills through hands-on learning. 

"This is the second time we're having the business fair this year, but this is the sixth annual one,” Ms. Pascal said. "Each year, the projects become more involved. We're seeing more technology."

Students assumed roles such as chief executive officer, chief financial officer, manager and marketing lead while working under tight deadlines to bring their ideas from concept to presentation. Judges evaluated projects on problem identification, research, pricing, marketing and communication.

Among the projects was Towel Scan, created by seventh-graders Amisha Shah, Liz Marino and Anna Woods.

"Our product is basically a scanner that uses UV light to sanitize your towels," Amisha explained. "There's a little screen that gives you a report on what they found on your towels, and possible cleaning products to properly clean the towel."

Hayden Hayes and teammates John Paul Moreno and Masen Chunasamy introduced Shoe Forge, a website that creates custom shoe designs.

"It's a place where you could take a picture of your shoe, and it will create a shoe custom for you,” Hayden said.
Meanwhile, Alisson Poveda and Johany Vasquez tackled a common challenge with a hairbrush designed to create different hairstyles in less than 10 minutes.

"We came up with the idea because we both had difficulty to do our hair," Alisson said.  

Environmental concerns inspired Echo Wave, a project by Abigail Guaman, Sally Quiridumbay and Jannl Ybaceta. Their invention is an animal-shaped machine that removes trash from waterways.

"It swims through the water to find and scoop up trash," Abigail said. "It has an easy removable bag so you can just empty the garbage and keep on cleaning anytime."

Abigail said the team was motivated by the growing problem of plastic pollution.

"We made it because over 11 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year and kills marine life," she said. "And we wanted to make this a fun way to clean the ocean and to solve this problem at the same time."

Talia Skrzypek, Ashley Pirrello and Daniela Servello developed an improved squishy toy featuring multiple textures and fillings.

"It is improved from other squishies, and it's more durable and has a bunch of textures," Talia said.

Other projects included Botanican, a plant-growing container, and Snatch a Poop, a dog harness that collects waste directly into an attached bag.

"It's great for long car rides," student inventor Calvin Oehlar said about the poop scooper. "You could use it for walks and plane rides."

Ms. Pascal said she has been impressed by the increasing sophistication of student ideas.

"We're seeing a pillow that has smells to go along with it, and motion senses," she said. "There's quite a few. There's a lot of apps. AI apps that do stuff, so I'm really excited on how the program is picking up steam and how the kids are really thinking outside of the box."

Interim Principal Joe Spero later announced the winners in the cafeteria, where they were cheered loudly by classmates and families.

M Day winners:

First place: Flow Lock, created by Stephanie Marroquin, Jordana Caamano, Dunya Abedi, Nayeli Godoy and Monica Martinez. The project offered a simpler way to open lockers using student identification cards.

Second place: Bright Minds, a board game designed by Honesti Robinson Jones and Kaleb Mullings for players with autism.

Third place: Dream Recorder, developed by Angel Velasquez, Jhon Puris Bautista, Robert Moore and Erick Daquilema. The concept would allow users to record and replay dreams they might otherwise forget.

S Day winners:

First place: Tap and Open by Daniel Malbons and Ryan Bokser. Their app would allow users to unlock, open, close and lock older doors using modern technology.

Second place: Cursive Quest, created by Joseph Alvarez, Jeseer El Kahlaoui, Anthony Garcia, Jesus Silva and Jack Blaine, an app designed to teach cursive writing to younger students.

Third place: AMSA (Automatic Microphone Sound Adjuster), developed by Savanna Sexton, Efa Vida, Gianna Shaw and Cecilia Roman. The microphone automatically adjusts sound levels and can help amplify voices for performances or public speaking.