Rogers State University students placed second and third in Juicy Ideas, a statewide collegiate video competition, that challenged students to combine entrepreneurship with environmental responsibility. Fueled by their fresh and innovative ideas, the two teams of RSU students excelled in a field of 15 teams from three universities.
The competition was designed to tap students’ imagination, innovation and collaboration. Juicy Ideas asked students to create value out of a disposable item – in this case, plastic shopping bags – and communicate a message of environmental responsibility.
Students from RSU along with the University of Tulsa and Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee had ten days to formulate a plan to add value to plastic shopping bags. The ideas ranged from insulation, to wind energy, to jewelry. Students documented their ideas on video and posted the videos to You Tube for judging.
“Through Rogers State University’s economic development strategy, we are always exploring new and innovative paths to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship,” says Dr. Ray Brown, Vice President for Economic and Community Development with RSU’s Innovation Center. “We believe one of the best ways to explore this is through stimulating creativity in the young people of our region. They represent our future workforce and business owners.”
The top three winning teams were announced Monday, November 17th by Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor at the Jazz Hall of Fame. The winning teams were “TU Underground,” first place; RSU “Mixed Fruits”, second place and RSU “Hillcats”, third place.
The second place RSU student team “Mixed Fruit” was comprised of: Terri Dubay of Claremore; Cindy Heisterberg of Verdigris; Elizabeth Tirado of Claremore and Adil Patel of Tulsa.
The third place RSU student team “Hillcats” was comprised of: Megan Pruitt of Owasso; Jolene Myler of Claremore; Jason Cantrell of Nowata and Bethia Davis of Claremore.
The first place team won a prize package including a Flip Camera and $2,000 cash. The second and third place teams each won $750 cash. Cash and prizes for the event are thanks to the many local sponsors, including Oklahoma Natural Gas, RSU, TU, OSU, i2e, and Performance Magazine.
Oklahoma’s top three teams will now face the winning regional teams from South Carolina, Western North Carolina, Iowa and Oregon to compete for the Juicy Ideas grand prize trip to Google in January.
From the three Oklahoma institutions, 15 teams with a total of 55 students played a part in the Juicy Ideas competition. Of those 15 teams, TU submitted seven videos, OSU submitted two and RSU in Claremore and Bartlesville submitted five videos.
For more information about the Juicy Ideas competition, contact the Innovation Center at (918) 343-7533.