St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy students set to travel to state entrepreneurship challenge

Two students will be representing St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy next month at the annual EconomicsPennsylvania state Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The duo was among the top three groups in Centre County eligible to compete in the state competition and share their business ideas.

Freshman R.J. Marsh and sophomore Joey Wheeler made a business plan to develop the “Auto-Note,” an automatic pen or pencil that records teacher notes from the white board, according to a report from the school.

“I’m proud of the hard work all of my students put into their business plans and am thrilled to see R.J. and Joey move on to the state level,” English teacher Laura Cunningham said in a statement. “The competition is a great opportunity for our students to get real-world business experience and to showcase their talents.”

Twenty-eight students at St. Joseph’s competed in the Centre County Entrepreneurship Challenge in the fall.

The program is designed to teach students about business and entrepreneurship, and provides them with an opportunity to showcase business plans to a panel of judges.

Cunningham worked with the teams to turn their concepts into business plans by working with different variables including identifying competitors, selecting a target market and developing a budget.

“This challenge was an experience I will never forget,” Wheeler said. “It’s inspired me for a potential career path. I had fun creating our own product, and now I have a better understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur.”

The state challenge will be held 9 a.m. April 5 at Misericordia University.

This story was originally published March 6, 2016 at 7:31 PM with the headline "St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy students set to travel to state entrepreneurship challenge."