Murphy – Students from Murphy High School and Tri-County Early College won the EntreEd Pitch Contest for their self-destructing single-use syringe pitch.
Last year, a group of Murphy Middle School students in Tonia Forrister's AIG class competed in the Western Region Educational Service Alliance Entrepreneur Competition and won the top monetary prize of $750 for their idea.
The group of students has continued to work through the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic and kept working on their product by researching other designs and using recycled plastics to lower the cost of manufacturing the syringe and be environmentally friendly.
The team worked closely with Carl Dreher of Brasstown, the owner of Focus Research who holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering, as he mentored and guided the team with planning. The team competed in the WRESA competition again earning an additional $100 monetary prize and then entered the EntreEd Pitch Contest.
Forrister said in first round of eliminations, the students submitted a business model canvas and 90-second elevator pitch video submitted virtually. According to entre-ed.org, only 10 teams advance to the second round of judging, which includes a live pitch via Zoom for a panel of judges.
The MHS/TCEC team won the first place honor and grand prize of $1,000.
"I am so impressed with this group of students and high school took them in different directions, yet continued to collaborate on this project because it is something they believe in," Forrister said. "They are motivated by their desire to create a product that will help people and save lives. Their dedication to helping others is inspiring."
Forrister also wanted to give recognition to the other 17 AIG students who competed and the Murphy Middle School sixth-grade team, which included Tyra Nelson and Anna Claire LaChance, who also advanced with their House Herbs portable herb garden.