Six teams of Birmingham Middle School students came to Regions Bank downtown Monday with plans for big business. The Huffman Middle School team of seventh graders left with the prize, and all the students received high praise from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who grew up in Birmingham schools.
The students spent months prepping for the pitch – learning about business, planning, and presentation in the style of the popular television show “Shark Tank.” This was their chance to sell a concept and show their skills to business, school and government leaders.
“Have you, any of you, ever had a family member or close friend dying of cancer, and you were staying at a hotel or with a friend that wasn’t close by? Do you regret not being close to their resting place?” asks Katherine Anderson. She stated her team’s case for a new hotel resort and cancer treatment center. The idea is to take care of family and caregivers while their loved ones receive treatment.
Student JaMaya Jackson made the final appeal.
“Sharks, the life of a loved one is priceless. We are asking for $500,000 for half of our company. We’ll use flyers, websites and billboards to get our company’s name out,” she says. “Don’t you want to be a part of this?”
Secretary Rice was impressed.
“It’s hard to get up in front of a group and sell your ideas. And somebody among this group is really going to be a great entrepreneur,” she says. “You could see that they loved it. They are passionate about it.”
A total of 26 students from throughout the school system participated in the Monday’s event. The earlier rounds of the competition and training included about 400 students, says Andrew Mitchell of the Birmingham Education Foundation.
The team from Huffman Middle School netted a $1,000 grant from Regions Bank, one of the sponsors of the program.