During the 2025 tecBRIDGE High School Business Plan Competition, four of the eight teams that presented in the live presentation round were from the Greater Hazleton Area. One of our area’s participants, Kiyan Paknezhad of MMI Preparatory School created EmPower. This is an affordable, 3D-printed myoelectric prosthetic hand — called the MK1 H.A.N.D.— designed to offer full finger mobility and customizable features, making advanced prosthetics more accessible to those in need. To celebrate this accomplishment, we connected with Paknezhad to learn more about them.

For those who may not know, tell us why you’re participating in this year’s competition. My school, MMI Prep, has taught me everything I know about presenting and business—and that’s a big part of why I’m participating this year. I want to represent my school in a positive light and gain more knowledge to support next year’s tecBRIDGE competitors, especially since our school only started participating last year.

I also want to improve my skills in delivering business presentations. Most of my past experience has been with school or science presentations, which are very different. Business presentations require more finesse and a strong understanding of your audience, whereas science presentations are often just reciting information. I want to grow in critical thinking and audience engagement.

Finally, I’ve been working on my project for several years, and this felt like a great opportunity to present it publicly. It’s helped me learn how to condense complex ideas into the short timeframe tecBRIDGE allows, which is a great exercise in clarity and conciseness.

How does it feel to represent the community of Hazleton? I feel excited and proud to represent this community, especially because it’s where my school is and where I’ve received so much support and encouragement to grow.

What significance does this opportunity hold for you? This competition gives me the chance to explore a field I don’t usually compete in—business. It’s helping me sharpen my presentation skills and better support others at my school by sharing what I’ve learned. I already try to help classmates prepare and give advice, but improving my own skills will make that even more effective.

It’s also a great way to meet new people from different schools—people I might not have connected with otherwise. I see this as a chance to make new friends and expand my network.

What advice would you give to fellow students interested in joining the High School Business Plan Competition next year? My advice is simple: just go for it. It’s not as hard or intimidating as it might seem at first. I thought it would be a huge time commitment that would be difficult to balance with other activities, but once I got started, the support from advisors and the excitement of the competition made it enjoyable.

You naturally get into a rhythm, and you end up learning so much—about finance, business strategy, presenting, and more. It could even spark a deeper interest in business. So I definitely recommend giving it a try without overthinking it.

For more information about tecBRIDGE’s High School Business Plan Competition, contact Jocelyn Sterenchock at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..