Southern Indiana Business Report
CRANE — Two local high school interns in the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Program are set to compete in the Innovate WithIN statewide pitch contest in Indianapolis June 19.
Andrew Blessinger and Lauren Mitchell, both seniors at Edgewood High School in Monroe County, were spring semester interns in NSWC Crane’s STEM Program located at WestGate Academy. They’re pitching a business concept they worked on throughout the semester of their internship. Boost Box is intended to help students with mental health.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Blessinger. “We didn’t expect to go this far. At the beginning of the process, we were coming up with business ideas and we knew mental health is really important. Lauren was receiving this makeup subscription box, so we thought we could have the customer take a survey and we’d make a specific box for each customer.”
Boost Box customers would receive curated monthly packages in the mail.
“The box would have four to five products,” Mitchell explained. “Each month, one or two products would be the same for every customer, and the remainder would be customized for each customer. The survey would ask customers what they liked, like sports or music, and the box would include specific things based on personal interest.”
The students’ goal is to create something that is bigger than a product itself.
“Another aspect of it is the social media community, so people can talk to each other,” said Blessinger. “We also want to curate content from mental health professionals for the community.”
Mitchell noted the idea of creating a community is an important part of the whole concept.
“We didn’t want to price to be a barrier to entry,” she said. “We want to use social media to break the stigma behind mental health and leverage existing platforms.”
The Innovate WithIN pitch competition is an annual event that allows high school students to compete and to develop their startup or business idea. The competition is divided into regions across Indiana. Students pitch their ideas for a chance to receive $25,000 as well as collaborate with professionals to help turn their ideas into reality.
In phase two this year, 10 teams were selected in each of Indiana’s nine regions and delivered a five-minute pitch video to a panel of judges. Those winners compete as state finalists and will pitch their businesses to a panel of government officials, venture capitalists, and local entrepreneurs.
2021 marks the first time the NSWC Crane STEM Program has added to its typical summer internship offerings and hosted student interns during the school semester. Tina Closser, the NSWC Crane STEM coordinator, said both Blessinger and Mitchell worked on STEM projects throughout the semester.
“We wanted the interns to find something they were passionate about rather than have a project assigned to them,” Closser said. “We shared the regional pitch competition, and Lauren and Andrew wanted to pursue it.”
Closser said it was important to provide the student team with learning opportunities.
“We were there to support them and connect them with different people, like ecosystem partners at NSTXL, other local entrepreneurs, Annie Bullock with NSWC Crane’s T2 program, and NSWC Crane employee and small business owner Steve Corbin. We gave them the time and space to work on it,” Closser said. “To me, it’s important… finding their path in life, what lights their fire, and makes them happy. If we can be part of that, that’s great. The skills that they are learning through this program are applicable to their future careers…getting in front of people and pitching their idea, finding problems to solve, and creating solutions.”
Both Blessinger and Mitchel are thankful for the experience and lessons learned from the overall internship.
“For me, it’s really exciting,” Mitchell said. “This is a problem I’m passionate about. The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone, including the attitudes of fellow students. I found out I was passionate about entrepreneurship through the Innovate WithIN program. It was a great opportunity to be creative and have independence.”
“This was a really neat experience,” Blessinger added. “To get out of the classroom, work on a project, help people in the future, and solve real-world problems… it’s great.”
About NSWC Crane
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in expeditionary warfare, strategic missions and electronic warfare.