Knightly News

Imagine if high school students could dig deeper into the college search by connecting directly with college students or if hikers could simply open an app to learn more about the flora and fauna along their routes. Recently three Episcopal student entrepreneurs researched and created business plans to make these ideas a reality. Through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge, students worked with mentors and learned more about what it takes to launch a successful business. Ultimately, the students received seed funding and are well on their way to achieving their dreams.

StudentAlly – Miniya Malone and Addison Reynolds

There is no doubt that the college decision process is stressful. Juniors Miniya Malone and Addison Reynolds created StudentAlly to make the journey easier by facilitating online meetings between high school and college students. “StudentAlly helps connect high schoolers to college mentors from their prospective schools who can speak on the college experience and offer unbiased advice about applications, classes, and college life in general,” says Addison. “We believe that StudentAlly will enhance the overall college decision process by allowing students to gain more information about the college life at different universities through first-hand perspectives that scrolling through the internet cannot provide,” says Miniya.

The YEA BR experience provided Miniya and Addison valuable lessons beyond business. “The most helpful thing I learned through YEA is that it is essential to put yourself out there in order to succeed,” says Miniya. “It is easy to get caught up in fear about what others will think about you or your ideas, but in order to sell a business you must first sell yourself. Networking is everything!” “The most impactful part of the class for me was being educated in managing funds and investments and how to project revenue, COGs, etc,” says Addison. “It certainly helped me get a better grasp of concepts that were foreign to me.”

The YEA BR panel was impressed with the concept, and StudentAlly was awarded $2,000 in seed funding. Miniya and Addison say the money will be used to create a website, develop a brand and establish relationships with area universities.

Watch Miniya and Addison's YEA BR presentation here.

Unearth – Diya Kankar

An avid hiker and nature lover, ninth grader Diya Kankar imagined an app to enhance the hiking experience. “Unearth will become a hiker’s must-have app because it helps people discover the nature around them with the camera feature,” she says. “It also will keep hikers, hunters, nature enthusiasts, etc. aware of their natural surroundings with its location-based feature so that they can stay safe as they discover the nature around them.”

Similar to Miniya and Addison, Diya gained valuable insight from the YEA BR experience. “The most helpful thing I learned through this experience was how to write a business plan and the fundamentals of how to run a business,” she says. “I also learned that starting a business takes a lot of preparation and requires business owners to adapt to changes.” Diya, who hopes to become a doctor, says YEA BR provided an experience that will help her achieve her long-term goals.

Diya received $450 to make Unearth a reality. Going forward she’ll use the funding to create a database and prototype.

You can watch Diya's YEA BR presentation here.

A Tradition of Entrepreneurship

Episcopal students have had tremendous success in the YEA BR program. Read more about past student entrepreneurs below. Join us in congratulating Miniya, Addison and Diya on their recent success!

A Love of Reading Inspires Student’s Business Idea

Episcopal Entrepreneurs Earn Seed Funding through YEA BR

Student Entrepreneur Competes Nationally

Continuing the Tradition of Episcopal Entrepreneurship

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.