Bayside High School Students Dominate Space Coast Junior Achievement Shark Tank-Type Event

By  //  April 9, 2022

10th Annual Balda Family Foundation Innovation Challenge

The first place team OF THE 10th Annual Balda Family Foundation Innovation Challenge included Logan Turbush, Matt LeDoux and Ossiel Rodriguez for their invention “MechP,” a device that removes worn down erasers from mechanical pens and stores the replacement erasers that are typically difficult to find in the store. (BPS image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Teams from 12 Brevard County high schools competed in the 10th Annual Balda Family Foundation Innovation Challenge to pitch their ideas, Shark Tank style, in front of a panel of expert judges – and Bayside High School BETA Academy juniors represented three of four finalist teams.

The first place team included Logan Turbush, Matt LeDoux and Ossiel Rodriguez for their invention “MechP,” a device that removes worn down erasers from mechanical pens and stores the replacement erasers that are typically difficult to find in the store.

This allows for upcycling of the cheaper mechanical pencils that litter school campuses due to no longer having a usable eraser.

The second place team included Roslyn Henson, Kiley Williams and Adam Dawodi for “Peeper Privacy by Rokiad,” a portable and adjustable device that can be used to cover the gap commonly found in public restrooms providing the user with piece of mind and added privacy when utilizing public facilities.

The device is also capable of securing the bathroom stall door when the latch is broken on a public stall.

The third place team of Tyrell Lyons, Bryan Yancey and Leonard Thomassen touted “Grip-E,” a pencil grip with a forward facing eraser, which provides a more comfortable writing experience.

The  “Grip-E,” allows the user to write longer and more legibly due to increased comfort and reduced pain due to long writing periods typically experienced by students, authors and other professionals.

Teams from 12 Brevard County high schools competed in the 10th Annual Balda Family Foundation Innovation Challenge to pitch their ideas, Shark Tank style, in front of a panel of expert judges.

All members of the winning team won a $12,000 annual scholarships to the Florida Institute of Technology and shared a $3,000 open cash scholarship.

Each members of the second-place team won a $10,000 annual scholarship to the Florida Institute of Technology.

The Balda Family Foundation will provide cash scholarships, including $1,500 for second place, $1,000 for third place and $500 for the honorable mention.

Judges included Aimee Balda, the Balda Family Foundation; Kirsten Dreggors, Northrop Grumman; Peter Mannino, Bank of America; David Sherrer, SeedFunders Orlando; Bradley White, WhiteBird Law; and Mark Malek of Widerman Malek Attorneys at Law.

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