Northwest Career and Technical Academy students showcased their year-end projects to their families in two events on Thursday.
In the evening, Money and Business students participated in the Social Innovation Challenge, a project where students worked in teams on solutions to community issues. The challenge gave students a chance to practice problem-solving, teamwork, communication and innovation.
The Money and Business program participated in the Social Innovation Challenge for the first time this year.
“I allow my students (to) choose issues that really that they’re passionate about because I believe that that’s how they will gain momentum to spark positive change within our community,” said Money and Business instructor Liam Carey-Eaves.
Students presented business ideas including an app to help drug users in active addiction find rehabilitation, a health insurance company, a substance abuse prevention game, a mental health app offering communication with their peers and an app to address tax corruption by reporting cases of misconduct.
The winning group presented a business pitch for a healthcare insurance company.
Nineteen Money and Business students chose topics about community issues that were important to them and presented a business pitch to address the issue.
Group members said they chose healthcare as the topic because insurance transparency is important, so people seeking care don’t get blindsided by thinking something was covered by insurance, but it isn’t.
Group member Leah Guillen said her family has experienced that issue.
Students said they learned collaboration and team decision-making throughout the process of creating their business pitch.
For the past two years, the Money and Business students have won the state competition and qualified for nationals.
On Thursday morning at the NCTA, both Culinary and Baking and Pastry students shared samples of dishes and baked goods. This year’s theme for Baking and Pastry students was bars, anything that included a cookie or crust base.
Student group Mollie Mosell, Sarah Baumgardner and Gabriela Cruz Guzman made creme brulee bars.
Cruz Guzman said she’s a hands-on, collaborative person, and doing the projects helped her make friends in the program and connections in the community.