2016 YEOC Case Competition and Annual Celebration
On Saturday May 7th over 170 students divided into 25 small teams to compete in the Annual YEOC Case Competition. YEOC welcomed over 30 judges from local business and 15 EY team advisors who served as coaches for the student teams. The goal of the case competition was for students to tackle a problem the world faces using technology. But before the winning team could be announced, it was time to gather in Alder Hall Auditorium to celebrate the end of another successful YEOC school year with 200 parents, students, and supporters.
Franklin High School senior and incoming University of Southern California freshman Monica Houston kicked things off with her student keynote address. Following Houston with some words of wisdom was YEOC alum and Foster sophomore Alvin Benavides. YEOC Mentor Emmeline Vu shared statistics on our graduating senior class and Katie Campbell and Sy Ruiz (YEOC Alumni) recognized the 2016 EY YEOC Scholarship recipients. Four high school seniors each received a $2,500 scholarship to support their freshman year at the University of Washington. Korrie Miller (YEOC Program Manager) then recognized each of the 22 YEOC Mentors and Mentors in Training (MITs) for collectively investing over 1,080 hours to the program. Finally, Foster alumni and EY staff Andre Gill-McVey along with Rheina Agosa and Nisha Kajani (YEOC Mentors) announced this year’s case competition champions. Arguing that their product would combat obesity in America and illnesses such as diabetes, the winning team developed Nutriplate; a tool designed to measure nutritional value, monitor food intake, and ultimately assist with health goals. The prizewinning team won $2,000 and a trip the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Gala to be honored on stage as the Youth Entrepreneurs of the year.
See photos from the event below.
Students work diligently on their case comp deliverables
Students work diligently on their case comp deliverables
Foster Professor John Hansen judging the final round of competition
Montana Houston: YEOC Senior Keynote Speaker
Celebration Keynote Speaker Nicole Felix, Assistant Director of Americas Inclusiveness Center of Excellence at EY
Winners of the 2016 YEOC Case Competition
Recipients of the 2016 EY YEOC Scholarship
All of the YEOC Mentors & MITs celebrating the end of the year
This blog post was written by YEOC Program Manager Korrie Miller, M. Ed. Photography by Emmeline Vu, Uyen Cao, and Matt Hagen.
The mission of the YEOC (Young Executives of Color) program is to cultivate the academic potential of underrepresented high school student leaders in Washington State through college preparation, powerful mentorship, and the development of real life business skills. Find out more about the YEOC program on the Foster website. Follow YEOC on Facebook and Instagram: @yeocuw.
