On Friday, St. Clair College held an event to highlight student innovation and technical know-how. It’s the Ford Innovation Showcase, the school’s premiere annual event where some of the brightest students and innovators unveil their unique problem-solving skills and ideas. The contest was judged by faculty, with eleven entrants and $14,000 in total prize money awarded for the best of the best entrants. The contest offered a rewarding learning experience for all students involved. The winning entry for best pitch presented is the team of Colton Thibert and Cole Dennie. Their “Cherry-Bomb Radical” game app won them the top prize of $3,000. All the students express an ambition to succeed, embracing cutting-edge education, technology and entrepreneurship aspirations. 19-year-old John Beverly is a robotics student. Beverly’s project called “Undisposed – Project ICE: Lithium Cell Extraction” identified the increasing threat to the environment (soil and water table) from lithium cell batteries that discarded e-cigarettes and vape products contain. It’s an ongoing problem but as Beverly puts it, there are always potential practical and innovative solutions. Beverly’s model has vape-users seeking out yet to be created vape recycling bins in communities “This project focuses on creating incentive for using those disposal bins,” said Beverly. “[The vape industry] wants a way to keep their vape consumers coming back and it’s not like they’re going to stop buying vapes. It’s an addictive substance. So, I need to incentivize them to use these disposal bins.” For Beverly and all the contestants, the endgame is to take an idea from scratchpad to prototype or model, to business blueprint and actualization, followed by monetization, all the while being a contributing member of the community. As for what lies ahead in the next decade for the young innovator, Beverley has his eyes set on a unique prize. “My future dream within the next decade is to be able to provide something like a third space. It’s a space between home and work. Cafes are usually reference for this. I want it to be a place, a STEM Café, where everyone can get the same educational resources that I got within my experience in life.”
