Students from the Greater Hazleton Area were named winners of the high school division at the 24th annual tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition Award Ceremony, held on Wednesday April 30th at the FM Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Ruhani Shah and Kenedy Lutz, juniors at MMI Preparatory School, took home first place with their business, Kayari, a clean, athlete-focused hair care system designed to protect and restore hair affected by sweat, friction, and buildup from athletic gear, marking the third consecutive year that an MMI team has secured first place in the competition.
Their win also secured the first-ever Sterenchock Lisman Cup, a new traveling trophy awarded annually to the school of the winning team. The award is named in honor of CAN DO Director of Economic Development Jocelyn Sterenchock and Jerry Lisman, Chief Executive Officer of Lisman Holdings, recognizing their sustained mentorship and leadership since the program’s inception in 2018. Each year since, they have mentored finalists and/or winning teams from the Greater Hazleton Area.
Both Sterenchock and Lisman are past recipients of tecBRIDGE’s Bill McNally Mentor of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals who contribute time and expertise to support emerging entrepreneurs. Over the years, the pair played a direct role in guiding nearly 100 students through the development of business concepts, helping to build a strong pipeline of young entrepreneurs in the Greater Hazleton Area.
Thomas Nowak, a senior of the Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, earned third place for his concept, Shadow Reality, a virtual reality-based career simulation platform designed to provide students with immersive, hands-on exposure to skilled trades and career pathways.
The Greater Hazleton Area was also represented in the Big Idea Essay Competition, where Sharan Parikh, a senior of MMI Preparatory School, earned third place.
Additional Hazleton-area finalists included Mariannyi Brache Minaya and Libio Espiritu-Santo of the Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, who showcased Skill Sprout; and Parikh and Rishi Patel of MMI Preparatory School, who presented PyroPath. Remarkably, four of the five finalists who advanced to the competition were from the Greater Hazleton area, an achievement that highlights the region’s exceptional talent, innovation, and growing leadership.
The tecBRIDGE High School Business Plan Competition challenges students across Northeastern Pennsylvania to develop and present original business ideas. Advancing through the semi-final and final rounds is a significant achievement, requiring creativity, strategic thinking, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively. With multiple students from the region advancing to the final rounds, this year’s results highlight the depth of talent among Greater Hazleton’s emerging entrepreneurs.
“We’re incredibly proud of every student we had the opportunity to work with this year,” said Sterenchock. “From the initial concept through final presentation, each team demonstrated a level of ownership, preparation, and pride in their ideas that set them apart. To see that translate into four of the five finalists coming from Greater Hazleton speaks not only to the strength of these students, but to the momentum we’re continuing to build.”
The continued presence of Hazleton-area students in the tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition highlights the region’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, supported by programs such as CAN BE and the Hazleton Innovation Collaborative (THInC).
To learn more about CAN BE and its initiatives to support the next generation of entrepreneurs, visit canbe.biz or contact CAN DO Program Coordinator, Ana Perez at aperez@hazletoncando.com.
