Senator Square: Carson High reveals its winning Shark Tank entrepreneurs

The Carson High School winners of the Shark Tank competition are in with amazing new ideas for start-up companies and new inventions of products, not to mention the monetary winnings that allow these aspiring entrepreneur-contestants to take the next step in the process of starting their own businesses or inventing and marketing their new products.

Thanks to teachers Billy McHenry and Angila Golik, as well as Carson City community professionals, students made presentations to a panel of investors, who then choose whether or not to invest, and the results are original, dynamic, and downright tasty.

McHenry and Golik’s advanced class $300 winners are Shaylin Segurra, Sophia Waite, and Wyatt Law with The Greenhouse Project, a non-profit greenhouse in Reno. Kiana Martinez, a first year class $300 winner, invented Cool Creations, a better sports ice-wrap.

Principles of business student Charles Andrews, another $300 winner, created Job Robber, a job finding software application. Tyler Alexander and Jens Robison won $300 with the invention Firefly Lawnmower, an incinerating lawnmower.

Principles of business student Kacey Kendall won $300 with Killer Coffee, a coffee shop, and $300 went to second year class winner Pablo d Nobre Reis with The German Bakery. Upper level runners-up Brynn Lehman and Kyle Glanzmann claimed $150 with The Smokin Patty Buffalo and Elk Burger Restaurant, and first year class runner-up Gloria Valdenegro won $100 with Cuticles, a children's nail salon. Greater Nevada Credit Union, US Bank, Mutual of Omaha Bank, Sierra Financial Planners, In Plain Sight Marketing, and the Adams Hub sponsored this competition with the monetary awards.

Additional support came from Micheal Salogga, Carson City Visitors Bureau, and Polymer 80. These young entrepreneurs better patent their products quickly or someone is libel to snatch up their amazing ideas. Way-to-go students of CHS. Who out there would not want a buffalo or elk burger for dinner?

Chili's Supports CHS Safe Grad
Let Chili's do the cooking while the community of Carson City supports CHS Safe Grad at the same time. With each flyer presented on March 14, Chili's will donate 20 percent of the event day sales to the Carson High School Safe Grad Booster. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 3784 US Highway 395 South in Carson City. For questions, please call 775-267-0044 or email www.chilis.com.

GNCU at CHS Prom Contest
Seniors, want an opportunity to go to Prom for free? The Greater Nevada Credit Union branch at CHS is giving away $635 of CHS Prom awesomeness. The prize winner will receive 2 Prom tickets, tux rental, flowers package, dinner at Adele’s, Dillard’s gift card, and hair up-do. Entry forms and contest rules are available at the CHS Greater Nevada Credit Union branch. The contest begins Feb. 27, and all entries are due by 1 p.m. March 15. Do not miss the chance to win this amazing prize package! And it is time to purchase Prom tickets, seniors. They are $40 each ticket and being sold in the student finance office. Get them now because they will sell out.

Speech and Debate
CHS recently hosted the last league tournament of the season. There were 17 schools, 356 student entries, and 118 community volunteers participating. CHS debaters performed well on their home turf. Alexis Mckenzie placed sixth and advances to finals competing in Novice Humorous Interpretation, and teammate Jesse Session placed fourth.

Adam Lackey placed fourth in his first appearance in Senior Humorous Interpretation with his piece “Kids in Control”. Rebecca Trejo placed 8th in Novice Impromptu Speaking, and Congress Captain Sadie Share placed 4th in Senior Impromptu Speaking. Public forum team Rebecca Trejo and Kieran Dazzo claimed 10th and 9th in speaker points.

Sophia Peterson placed 7th in Novice Lincoln Douglas speaker points, and team captain Sawyer Barnett placed 7th in Senior Original Oratory, 2nd overall, and 1st in speaker points in Senior Lincoln Douglas debate on the topic of Constitutionally Protected Speech. Four CHS debaters boarded in Congressional Debate with Jessica Preston 5th in Senate. Emerson Spence placed 3rd in his house chamber and advanced to senior level debate. Sarah Sever and Michael Rosenberg closed out 2nd and 1st in speaker points in their chamber.

The team also took home three Season Bowls Awards to top teams in the league by event. Carson took 3rd place in Humorous Interpretation, 2nd place in Duo Interpretation, and 2nd place in Lincoln Douglas Debate. CHS Debate thanks Grandma Hattie’s, Del Taco, and Port of subs for helping cater the event as well all 118 volunteers who judged rounds during the week. The team competes at state in Las Vegas this weekend.

Student of the Week
Natalia Smith is the CHS Student of the Week. She is very assertive and always getting things done. Natalia is excited to be a student, and she is very strong in her academics. She also makes good decisions and is a respectful human being. CHS thanks Natalia Smith for hard work and determination.


Senior Spotlight
The week’s Senior in the Spotlight is Aneet Mand. Aneet has a 4.51 GPA and has taken more than 15 honors and AP classes. She will also complete a Health Science pathway this year, taking the second and third courses in the sequence in addition to 3 AP and 1 honors course. Aneet has participated in numerous extracurricular activities throughout high school. She is a member of the NHS, HOSA, Link Crew and Leadership, and she also tutors two days per week for Solutions after school.

As a member of HOSA, Aneet made the top five in the state on the knowledge test in Transcultural Health Care and will be recognized at the March state competition in Reno. If her score turns out to be in the top three she will be able to go to nationals in Orlando, Florida this summer. And as a consequence of being the CHS Senior Class Representative this year in Leadership, she will be heading to Las Vegas in April as a junior counselor to help train future Leadership and Student Council members.

Aneet keeps herself busy outside of school too as she volunteers her time at Carson Tahoe Hospital in its Cancer Resource Center. She has racked up more than 150 hours doing this and as a result will be recognized at the state competition for HOSA with the Barbara James Service Award for her volunteer work. She plans to continue her work there, helping patients in their hospital rooms who need assistance from staff and steering families to all the resources available to them for their loved ones needing cancer treatment.

She is working to attain Gold Level status by volunteering 250 hours. Aneet demonstrates outstanding leadership and character in all she does and thus was selected as the Soroptomist Girl of the Month in Sept. 2016.

Aneet will attend UNR next year to earn her BS degree; she will then continue on to become a pediatrician. CHS is proud of her accomplishments and wishes Aneet the highest level of success in her future.

— Senator Square columnist Phil Brady is an English teacher at Carson High School.