Veritas Classical Academy freshman wins first round of Junior PioBiz
MARIETTA — A freshman at the Veritas Classical Academy won the 2021 Junior PioBiz: Problem/Solution stage of the competition at Marietta College.
Sophia Nayak, who competed April 8 against 14 students from Belpre High School, was awarded $250 and one free three-credit course at Marietta College valued at $1,455. Nayak proposed the product Medicompare, a medical service review app similar to review apps for restaurants and hotels.
Evan Vowls, Alivia Mercer and Wyatt Whitehouse of Belpre High School finished second with Instrufinder, an app to identify instruments in a song by sound. The group won $200.
Also from Belpre High, Nichole Gogan, Victor Vilahur and Elijah Flowers took home $150 and a third-place finish with Quickassist. Another app idea, Quickassist helps people who need to get essential goods or needs someone to run errands for them.
Finishing in fourth place and winning $100 was Nicholas Lambert, Anthony Sampson, Matthew Rasmussen and Evan Turrill of Belpre High with Restaurant Rater. This app concept allows users to save menu items they have ordered at a restaurant and they can rate it, so they know if they want to get it again or not.
Rounding out the top five was Christopher Clem, Trent Cox, Cody Daugherty and Cody Hess of Belpre High with Project Mask On. The concept is a box designed to put in a vehicle that can be loaded with masks. The group received a $50 prize.
The judges for Junior PioBiz were: Nikki Butler, Marietta College class of 1999, artist and founder of Nikki Butler Design; Hannah McKain, class of 2023, marketing and management student at Marietta College; Sara Rosenstock, associate professor of graphic design and co-owner of Just-A-jar Design Press; and Leah Seaman, class of 2021, communication and studio art student and overall winner of the 2019-20 PioBiz competition.