ASHLAND — It’s not every day a student from Ashland develops a business pitch with peers in Argentina, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
What’s OneSchool Global?
OneSchool Global was founded by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, and has more than 120 campuses across 20 countries, according to its website. It places an emphasis on ensuring its students are “life-ready,” and that students uphold Christian teachings and beliefs.
The Ashland campus, located at 1940 Township Road 1255, has 59 students. It enrolls students in grades 3-12, according to regional director of education Jonathon Borys.
But as part of OneSchool Global’s new Perfect Pitch competition, that’s exactly what Brandt Hellberg, a senior at Ashland’s campus, had a chance to do.
The competition, first developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to engage students, used to only be open for OneSchool Global students in North America.
It works a bit like the TV show “Shark Tank,” where entrepreneurs present business plans to five possible investors.
In OneSchool’s version of the competition, teams of students develop a unique product pitch.
Hellberg said they had to share a business plan including sketches, a financial plan and more. They also had to make a video presenting the plan.
This year is the first time the competition has been open to students from all of OneSchool’s more than 120 global campuses, said Jonathon Borys, one of the school’s regional directors of education. So, that means 100 students are competing, comprising 20 different teams.
The top seven teams move forward to the next round of competition, where they’ll join a webinar and present their products to a panel of judges. Teams find out if they move forward in the competition this week, Borys said.
Hellberg’s team pitch
Hellberg said his team had a mentor who was very knowledgeable about safety. His team took on that topic, developing a smart version of a hard hat.
The hard hat they pitched would have features like GPS tracking so managers can see employees’ locations on a job site.
Hellberg said he focused on the financial side of the business plan. He said he appreciated the real-world application of coming up with real numbers for the plan, along with the practice presenting about his team’s idea. He also enjoyed the chance to work with a mentor.
“One of the biggest things I learned was from the mentor,” Hellberg said. “He was a business owner, obviously, (which has) nothing to do exactly with being from another country, but just to have some input like that was incredible.
“But then other countries, just how they think differently and see things differently — it’s pretty interesting.”
Hellberg plans to enter the workforce directly after graduation. But, he said the competition has encouraged him to pursue a career in the business world.
That’s in line with the school’s goals for its students, according to Borys. He said OneSchool looks at success as more than assessments — instead, it’s about preparing students for their lives.
