Great Ideas in the Alumni Pitch Contest

The CSUS Alumni Board and Alumni Tech Council combined forces to co-sponsor the first-ever Alumni Pitch Contest, an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in the art of generating an idea to improve Crystal...

...and putting it into a well-crafted, concise persuasive argument—the pitch.  The hope was to help students develop skills in entrepreneurism, innovation, storytelling and creativity.  It also provided students with an opportunity to interact with and learn from alumni mentors and judges.

Throughout the summer, pitch teams met with alumni mentors and worked to perfect their pitches.  In early September, four student teams presented great ideas to Upper School students, faculty and alumni during an assembly.

(Team 1) Kevin L '17 and Colby C '17: Install a rain collection system in the garden to alleviate water consumption during the drought and beyond.  Mentor: Jordan Epstein ’06

(Team 2) Megan D ‘17 , Alexander P ‘17 and David Y ‘17: Create a Life Skills & Readiness course (cooking, finances, car maintenance, citizenship, social aspects of college, etc.) to enhance the curriculum and better prepare graduates for life beyond Crystal. Mentor: Kit Halvorsen ‘08

(Team 3) James K ‘18: Add reusable/washable cups to the food service to eliminate the waste of disposable cups currently in use. Mentor: Jeff Grimes ‘11

(Team 4) Ethan C ‘18: Increase the frequency of regular “Late Start Days” on the calendar to help students get more sleep and perform better in class and beyond.  Mentor: Aman Kumar ‘05

Alumni Board judges Becky Logan Davidow ’89, Tyson Mao ’02 and Jennifer Rodoni Glore ’96 had a difficult time deliberating.  In the end, they chose Ethan C.’s pitch to increase “Late Start Days” because of the professionalism, depth and polish of his data-driven presentation.  Ethan received a $250 cash prize, courtesy of the Alumni Board, and the opportunity to help steward his idea into becoming a reality for the school.  

Congrats to the student pitchers who stepped into unchartered territory for this inaugural contest.  Also, our deep thanks to the alumni mentors and judges who gave generously of their time and expertise to help students stretch themselves and learn important skills.
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