Three teams of BYU-Hawaii students took first place in three divisions at the annual Empower Your Dreams and New Venture Competition organized by the Willes Center. Tension was felt in the air as Mark H. Willes made remarks to the competitors at the final award ceremony. Willes, sensing this, said a good businessman “understands his consumers” so he would not make his final remarks long as participants were gathered in the Aloha Center Ballroom on March 21 waiting to hear who won. Students participated in one of three categories for the New Venture Competition: Domestic, Social Entrepreneurship, and International. Three categories of awards were given away. First-place teams received $5,000, second-place teams $3,500 and honorable mention teams $1,500. Those who received first place include: “Golden Baby Enlightenment Education” in the International category; “Pillowface” in the domestic category; and “Well Africa” in the social entrepreneurship category. Second place winners were “Domestic Worker Project,” “JT Rentals,” and “Ola Sante.” Those who received honorable mention included “Ruah,” “ICD Outsourcing,” and “Smartour GPS.” Tim Zemp, a junior studying business finance from Canada and co-chairman-project manager for Empower Your Dreams, said the competition “went flawlessly, and could not have been better.” Sery Kone, a sophomore studying business finance and a team member of “WELL Africa,” said, it “is a nonprofit organization that was created to provide a solution to the child labor issue in the chocolate industry. We’ll start in the Ivory Coast and then move forward to other countries in Africa.” He said the “Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa bean producer with 40 percent of the worldwide production.” “Well Africa” has team members working in Laie, France, and the Ivory Coast. They do not have one specific leader but rather work together as a team, he said.Entrepreneurship:Other team members are Nelson Thunot, Matteo Giordano, Ammon Phipps, Kwadwo Kumah, Melissa Macy Arias, Rahei Thunot, Katherine Christensen, Betsy Tenango, Laura Catalina Moreno, Ianitza B. Torres, Adhna Martin, Necolina Hubner, Dario Arias, Jarek Buss, Iris Lin, Danny Ploeger, Tanner Farley, Anh Mai, Kerry Yu, Ace Vuikadavu, Chris Nartker, Martin Milius, Elliot Mauai, Andrea Bolles, Kiana Bourne, Janet Macy, Victor Macy, Adrianna Lamb, Kelsi Cooper, and Reif Tauati. The team’s “plan is very simple. We read many reports by international organizations. We found out that the reason why this problem still exists is there is a connection between the way farmers are making money, the chocolate companies are running their businesses, and the fact that the children and their families are looking for money,” said Kone. “Everything is connected. So you have got to come up with a plan where everyone benefits. We call it a ‘win-win plan agreement’,” stated Kone. The team looks forward to building a school for the kids and teaching farmers needed skills for better farms. These things are needed for a “win-win agreement,” he said. For more information, visit “Well Africa” on Facebook.Domestic:Ryan Oldroyd, a freshman studying political science from Texas and leader of the “Pillowface” team, said it “is an antibacterial pillowcase that you put on at night and throw away in the morning. This way, we prevent foreign pathogens from entering your pores. It’s the epitome of natural acne fighting medicine.” “It’s based on research done in 2011 and 12,” he said. “Choose ‘Pillowface’. It’s a breakthrough in breakouts. That’s our motto. Find us on facebook or at www.thepillowface.com.” “Me and my team worked really hard,” Oldroyd said. “We may have even put school on the back burner to focus on this, but it was a lot of fun. We’re really surprised. We didn’t actually think we were going to get first place,” he said. With the money, they are going to look at patenting the idea. “We’re talking with a patent attorney right now,” he said. “It’s going to go to legal fees to protect our idea.” The “Pillowface” team consists of Ryan Oldroyd, Ryan McClain, Michael Nitingale, and Casey Nixon.International:“Golden Baby” is an organization that has developed a plan for helping the education of Chinese children. The organization consists of Lee Meng Kang, Li Amo, and Liu Xianzhe. Lee Meng Kang, a senior studying business from Taiwan, explained the purpose of “Golden Baby.” He said, “It provides a standard Western, pure English-based service preschool for both wealthy, local and foreign families in Qing Dao,” which is a city in China. The team’s mantra is: “Born to be winners, learn to be leaders.” The preschool will help children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. It would focus on three different classes: gym, art, and science. Through these classes, they look to develop communication skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Children will “learn how to cooperate as a team,” stated Kang.“Golden Baby” team members have talked to the TESOL Department staff on campus. Kang stated their communication with TESOlLfaculty has been “positive” and that they want to support the program in the future with interns. The prize money will help them finish the remainder of their schooling, Kang said, which in turn will help their project progress.
Writer: Tucker Grimshaw~Multimedia Journalist
