Members of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority crafted a makeshift raft from discarded water bottles to win top prize this week in the inaugural Elon Innovation Challenge, part of a global contest sponsored locally by the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
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The teams had less than a week to create a video of three minutes or less to show added value to any number of water bottles.
Value could be measured on any scale – social value, financial value or even humor – and came from actually implementing ideas and delivering results. Elon’s contest was held in coordination with the Stanford Global Innovation Tournament.
The top three teams from the local competition also had the opportunity to donate money to a charity of their choice. Gary Palin, director of the Doherty Center, said he believes that teaching entrepreneurship goes hand-in-hand with giving back to the community, and by allowing teams to select their favored nonprofits, he was able to grow a spirit of philanthropy.
“The creativity exhibited by students was outstanding,” Palin said. “And this was a great building block for an annual event focusing on the importance of creativity and entrepreneurial activities.”
1st Place:
Alpha Omicron Pi (Lauren Warr, Rachel Cieri, Kirsten Petersen, Susan Esrock, Eva Jorgensen-Graham, Laura Smith, Angela Sparrow and Lindsay Depow)
“Ticket to Freedom”
A $500 donation was made to the Arthritis Foundation
2nd Place:
Average Joe’s Gym (Alex Trevisan, Cory Dowd, Keith Williams and Clayton Winklevoss)
“Elon Innovation Challenge”
A $200 donation was made to Push America
3rd Place and Audience Favorite:
First Timers (Alan Duvall, Brent Gilmore, Katie Pietrowski and Mike Depace)
“Waterbottle Powered Car”
A $100 donation was made to the Boys & Girls Club
Three members of the winning team were present to receive the award. Their raft project, they explained in the three-minute video on YouTube, showed added value for the many immigrants who attempt to cross the Rio Grande to enter the United States.
“I learned a lot about immigration,” junior Susan Esrock said. “I didn’t know that people actually come here in water bottles.”
Said her teammate, junior Angela Sparrow: “We put a lot of work into it and we really liked our idea.”
The “Waterbottle Powered Car” team used bottle to make a handheld “vehicle” that the team filmed at a fast food drive-thru and in a car wash, among other places. The teammates chose to emphasize entertainment value.
Meanwhile, the “Elon Innovation Challenge” by the Average Joe’s Gym team utililzed water bottles for household goods like a piggy bank and fish aquarium.
The next challenge will take place next fall, Palin said, though he plans to have a similar innovation challenge in February for local high school students.