The Lynx Way
Brandon students initiated into Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at South Dakota State University initiated eligible juniors, seniors and graduate students to its membership Nov. 27 in the University Student Union’s Hobo Day Gallery on campus. Brandon Valley High School graduates Shelby Fritz and Hannah McIlravy were initiated.
Eligibility is based on class standing. Juniors in the upper 5 percent and seniors in the upper 10 percent ranking of their classes are invited. Graduate students with a 4.0 GPA are eligible to be initiated.
BV alum takes 3rd in ‘Shark Tank’ competition
Brandon Valley High School alum William Trevillyan captured third place with his “business” partner, Kayla Kassa, and their company, MaintenanceMetrics, in the fifth annual CEO Business Plan Competition at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. They received $1,000, which can be used toward business ideas.
The competition is themed after the popular television program Shark Tank. It challenges entrepreneurs to present a business plan to a panel of expert judges.
The competition is open to all West River high schools, as well as neighboring higher education institutions Black Hills State University, Western Dakota Tech, National American University and Chadron State College. Participants in the SD Mines CEO Program attend on-campus business plan training throughout the semester and receive assistance from the Small Business Development Center in preparing financial statements, as well as mentoring from local business leaders and SD Mines’ Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.
Teams who compete in the SD Mines CEO Program often take their business plans to compete statewide at the South Dakota Governor’s Giant Vision Awards. Mines students who have competed in the CEO Competition have gone on to win the Governor’s Giant Vision Award the last four years.
In the past, student business plans have ranged from an intelligent wheelchair and energy saving window films to guidance devices for the blind and subterranean salt caverns for natural gas storage.
