The winner of the Social Impact Elevator Pitch competition is Rachel Kripke-Ludwig.
Last month, our high school research assistants in the Open Mind Social Innovation Lab (OMSIL) were challenged to present a social problem, persuade listeners of its importance, and propose an innovative solution. An elevator pitch refers to the idea of a sales pitch that is short and powerful enough to convince someone in the time it would take to ride an elevator.
Alekos Kapur, Aisha Khan, and Rachel Kripke-Ludwig presented during OMSIL’s research assistant weekly meeting. Their pitches were then recorded and posted onto Open Minds’ website to be voted on.
Alekos pitched the development of a standardized curriculum for public schools to train teachers in establishing a safe, inclusive, learning friendly environment for LGBTQ+ students. Aisha pitched the creation of a reading list of destigmatizing books that capture mental health issues from different angles in order to teach acceptance to students from a young age. Rachel pitched the production of an introductory video for college admissions officers and advisors showcasing the abilities and therefore expanding the access of nonspeaking people to higher education.
After tallying the votes, Rachel narrowly won. She is being rewarded with $1000 to implement her solution.
OMSIL’s research assistants have decided to collaborate and realize all of the social impact elevator pitches.
Watch the elevator pitches below:
Alekos
Aisha
Rachel
Open Minds Silicon Valley provides platforms to elevate the voices of diverse students, professionals, and families. We encourage writing submissions to be emailed to eric@openmindschool.org. We look forward to being in touch about possible feature options.