5th-Graders Win 'Angel Award' & Entrepreneur Award

From Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C:

JOLIET, IL — William B. Orenic Intermediate School fifth-graders Maria Cemeno and Kailey Heyduk got a big surprise during their school lunch recently when Lewis University Director of School Partnerships Larry Wiers surprised them with an announcement. The two students won an Entrepreneur Award for their business, “Double Sides,” they presented at the Young Entrepreneur EXPO, which was organized by Lewis University and the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The big surprise was that Cemeno and Heyduk were also chosen by a secret “angel investor” at the expo to receive a $100 investment to their business and their W.B.O. Entrepreneurship Club.

“This is a big honor,” Wiers said after the presentation. “This angel investor decided that of all the student businesses that presented, if he was going to invest in a company, he would invest in you.”

Wiers told them the angel investor’s comments about their business included that the “concept overall was very solid,” and that the “product is durable and priced to make a small margin.”

The product Cemeno and Heyduk designed was a double-sided pencil with an eraser in the middle. The pencil can be bent in the middle to expose the eraser. The idea is that with pencil leads on each end, students won’t have to sharpen them as much, decreasing distractions in the classroom.

They said they were very surprised to receive the award. Heyduk was the one who initially came up with the idea, the partners said, then together they modified it and did the work on the design, cost effectiveness and marketing plan.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Cemeno said, “because we were only fifth graders.”

Heyduk said she thought the secret angel investor realized the invention would help students work harder in school without as many distractions.

“There’s no limit to their imaginations,” W.B.O. Entrepreneurship Club Co-Sponsor Ann Provencher said.

Also presenting the award were Troy School Board President and Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce Education Committee Co-Chair Mark Griglione, and Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce President Mary Jaworski. Troy School District 30-C Superintendent Dr. Todd Koehl, W.B.O. Principal Larry Piatek, and W.B.O. Entrepreneurship Club Co-Sponsors Christopher Giugler and Ann Provencher also attended.

The Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee began the Entrepreneurship Club in 2011 as a way to engage middle school students with entrepreneurial thought.

Now in its sixth year, teachers at Troy, Gompers, Washington, Hufford, Dirksen, Rockdale, Elwood, Laraway, Channahon, St. Paul's and the Cathedral of St. Raymond schools come together to be trained in delivering the real life entrepreneur curriculum to students interested in joining their schools’ entrepreneur clubs. Over each school year, students develop their plans and work toward establishing their “businesses."

This year’s program culminated with a Business EXPO on April 25 at the University of St. Francis, where over 100 students from 11 schools exhibited their 65 businesses.

Pictured holding giant check: Kailey Heyduk and Maria Cemeno | image via Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C