Clarke H.S. teams compete in JANY Business Plan Contest

Joseph Pavia, a W.T. Clarke High School business teacher and group adviser, with W.T. Clarke High School students who competed in the school round of the Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition.

Courtesy the East Meadow School District

Team PinPoint included students Christina Mendoza, Binita Shah, Steven Davidson, and Karen Papazian. The group earned first place at the May 8 school round. They were pictured with Pavia, at right.

Courtesy the East Meadow School District

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Five business teams at W.T. Clarke High School competed in the school round of the Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition on May 8.

Now in its eighth year, the Business Plan Competition — JANY’s flagship, youth, entrepreneurship education program — provides New York City and Long Island students the opportunity to pitch ideas for new business ventures in a competition format. Prominent members of the New York City and Long Island business communities serve as judges. This year, students will research, develop and competitively pitch ideas for products or services that can transform the travel and tourism industry. The top three winning teams will walk away with cash prizes valued up to nearly $20,000.

At W.T. Clarke High School’s school round, Team PinPoint, consisting of students Steven Davidson, Christina Mendoza, Karen Papazian and Binita Shah, earned first place among strong competition. Their business plan centered on PinPoint, an inconspicuous device with built-in nanotechnology that can be placed on commonly lost items such as keys, glasses, laptops and pets, and can track items with the push of a button on its mobile application. Students explained that on PinPoint's app, customers could view where all of their various PinPoints are located. PinPoint is the smallest device on the market and is completely customizable to camouflage with all belongings.

The four other teams who also earned honors and participated in the competition include:

•Team Safe Escape (second place): Alison Colantuono, Julia Conley, Rian Leung, Taylor Rosenking

•Team Pilot Pal (third place): Alyssa Carbone, Simran Cheema, Yveth Guevara, Ashra Mirza

•Team Cabana: Dianna Amini, Rohit Bachani, Tyler Constantine, Julia Cavaluzzi

•Team Risk Watch: Najla Karimi, Shannon Pitone, Casey Weinberg

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank our central administration as well as W.T. Clarke High School administration for their ongoing support of our business students,” said W.T. Clarke High School business teacher and adviser Joseph Pavia. “We receive great support from many people and this is why we’re so successful. Our students are creative, hard-working and passionate, and this is a wonderful opportunity to provide them with hands-on, real-world learning experiences in our district.”