The STARTedUP Foundation announced the 10 teams that earned a spot in the state finals of Innovate WithIN. Two are from the Northwest Indiana region.
The Wringo and Safety Glow teams each earned $1,000 per team member to build their ideas during the next two months as they prepare for the state finals June 21 at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business.
The Wringo team from Munster High School includes Connor Gomez, Ameen Musleh and Vasili Papageorge. The SafetyGlow team from Hanover Central High School in Cedar Lake includes Ashton Verbish.
“As the host of Innovate WithIN’s Region 4 Northwest Indiana Finals, we are excited that our region will once again be sending two teams to the state finals,” said Jason Williams, managing director for the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest. “Northwest Indiana always performs well at Innovate WithIN thanks to a growing ecosystem of support across the Region. We are confident that Wringo and Safety Glow will be the teams to beat.”
The teams will receive opportunities to be mentored by leaders at Elevate Ventures and TechPoint’s Venture Support Program. They also will participate in a weeklong bootcamp, sponsored by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
The winners of the state tournament will receive further support through a sponsorship by the Buckingham Foundation. First place will receive $25,000 in seed money, and members of the team each will receive $10,000 in 529 funds to continue their educations. Other teams will have a chance at scholarships from colleges and universities that participated in the competition.
The Society of Innovators will host a pep rally June 7 at the Lake County Corn Dogs baseball game for the teams before they head to state finals.
The STARTedUP Foundation was launched in 2018 by educator Don Wettrick and former student Hunter Stone.
Caption: Wringo team members accept a check as a winner in the Region 4 Innovate WithIN competition. The team has been selected to compete at the state level. (Provided by Society of Innovators)
