Essay/Video Contest Honors Innovation
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Do you watch Shark Tank, the critically acclaimed and multi-Emmy Award-winning entrepreneurial-themed reality show? Maybe you have a business idea that you want to pitch or you’ve dreamed of running a company that would contribute creativity and innovation to the business world. Often, products or ideas are born out of necessity; other times they grow from a seed that sprouts and takes shape on paper.
These are the scenarios to explore in a 2019 Entrepreneurship Essay Contest sponsored by Teen Ink and the Gifted and Talented Institute (GATI). Submissions are due on March 31, and the winner of this competition will be announced on April 15.
Teen Ink, a national teen magazine, book series, and website that offers teens the opportunity to publish their creative work (writing, art, photographs) and to express their opinions on issues that affect their lives has partnered with GATI and Gifted and Talented Silicon Valley Innovators (GATSVI) to hold an essay and video contest where teens can submit their business ideas for a chance to win a full-paid tuition scholarship valued at $7,995 that will cover the cost of a choice of three residential summer programs. Full contest details and a description of the prizes can be found at https://www.teenink.com/.
To enter the contest, a competitor should create a free account at Teen Ink, then plan and write a 250-word essay or produce a 60-second YouTube video clip using the following topic as a guide: Pick a company. If you can be the CEO of that company, then “why, what, and how” would you bring innovation to disrupt the status quo? Once the essay or video is ready for submission, entrants should select the “2019 Entrepreneurship Essay Contest” checkbox in the category/tags field and upload their submission.
Contest organizers hope not only to reinvigorate entrepreneurship in America and to honor innovation with this contest but to encourage teens to imagine themselves as creative, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons, like The Sharks.
Ideas often start on paper, giving teens from all walks of life the chance to chase the American dream and potentially secure an opportunity for more training in a summer program at Stanford, UC Irvine, or UC Berkeley. At one of these California institutions, the winner will have access to world-renowned mentors and instructors from Silicon Valley’s top companies, research teams, or marketing experts. Full scholarship to one of the residential Silicon Valley or Silicon Beach camps includes tuition, housing, and board. It does not include airfare/travel to and from the camp, however.
Distributed through classrooms by English and Art teachers, and available in libraries nationwide, Teen Ink magazine offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens today. Teen Ink is devoted to helping teens share their own voices, while developing reading, writing, creative and critical-thinking skills.
