High School Students Attend NFTE Innovation Summit and One Student Makes Top 10

On Tuesday, November 12, four high school students from our Entrepreneur Club attended the NFTE Innovation Summit, sponsored by Miami-Dade County and Intuit.  With over 250 students in attendance from seven schools around Miami, the scene was energetic and exciting.  The schools in attendance included:

Christopher Columbus High School
David Lawrence Jr K-8 Center
John A. Ferguson Sr. High School
Coral Gables Senior High
Riviera Preparatory School
Coral Reef Senior High School
Kingdom Academy Middle
Jan Mann Educational Center
Gulliver Preparatory

Students from Hebrew Academy were assigned groups with other students to discuss the Intuit Education Sustainable Careers Challenge, and design a product, service or initiative that promotes quality technical/vocational education, relevant skills training, or lifelong learning opportunities for all.  

With roughly 77 teams competing on their one-minute pitch, our own Bailey Spitz was selected to join the Top 10 and pitch on stage in front of the entire Summit.  Students from each school all watched classmates and new friends pitch their business to a panel of five judges, and in the end, while Bailey and her teammate, Rachel Valdes from Coral Gables High School, had to concede defeat in the closest of margins. However, we were still able to leave the event proud that a school with the second smallest delegation was able to stand on the podium as second place winners.  

Bailey and her team chose to create an App that could connect underprivileged struggling high school students to successful mentors in the workforce who went through similar situations as the kids. The mentor would provide guidance, and hopefully enable to student to decide to further their education. They will also be able to connect the kids to a company that could sponsor college tuition.  

The Hebrew Academy Entrepreneurship Club meets on Thursdays and we look forward to even greater success in the Spring.