Joe Hayes (right) won first place in the BraveHawk Entrepreneur Challenge at UNC Pembroke.Mr. Hayes is pictured with UNCP Secretary Diane Prusanc.
PEMBROKE – Joe Hayes enjoys giving back to young people in his hometown of Peanut City, Virginia.
For the past two summers, UNC Pembroke Senior has hosted Hayes Stacking Days Youth Football Camps, bringing together college athletes and coaches to help local players hone their skills on the field. But Hayes has big dreams for his camp to go beyond football and impact the next generation, and at UNCP's first BraveHawk Entrepreneur Challenge held on Wednesday, April 3, Hayes, an expanded program called Stacking I pitched the idea of the Dayz Initiative.
After finishing, Hayes won the contest's top prize of $1,000 to further develop his idea. “I am grateful and grateful for this experience,” said Hayes, a mass communication major. His expanded efforts will include workshops on financial literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, and other essential life skills.
“Answering the judges' questions felt like being on Shark Tank, but it gave me confidence to continue growing this program.” Sponsored by the Thomas College of Business and Economics (TCOBE), the The challenge gave 21 budding entrepreneurs from UNCP's academic programs the opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of judges and answer questions. TCOBE Dean Dr Mohamed Jerjuli said the event will provide real-world experience and allow students to find out what it's like to pitch a business idea to banks and potential investors. Stated.
“For a vocational school like ours, experiential learning is important,” says Gyergeri. “Half of business is book knowledge. The rest is professional skills and confidence in yourself. Experiences like this build confidence and can give students an edge as they start their careers. ”
Tashiana Locklear Gibson, who lives in nearby Maxton, uses a wheelchair and developed the idea for a customizable book bag with a canopy to protect people with mobility issues from rain and other natural elements. Did.
Locklear Gibson, a fourth-year accounting, economics and finance student, placed second in the competition and won $750 in seed money. After answering her judges' questions, she looks forward to taking her own ideas from concept to reality. “I think this was a jumpstart to making my product as big as possible,” Locklear Gibson said. “This is still in the conceptual stage, but this experience has given me the energy to motivate and inspire. It will give me the start I need.”
The competition's five judges were drawn from TCOBE faculty and the local business community. Sheila Harris, Lecturer. Dr. Michael Barbera, Adjunct Faculty; Tim Brooks, President of HealthKeeperz. Victoria Carter, Disaster Recovery Coordinator for the Town of Pembroke. Gyergeri hopes the challenge will become an annual event that will help launch her idea into a promising business.
“Our goal is to pair students with great ideas with faculty who help them create business plans that can be used to raise funds. We also identify students with promising business ideas and share their ideas with them. We want them to join the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub to help us grow.”
