Snow students win big in GRIT entrepreneur contest
By Lloyd Call
Associate publisher
12-5-2019
EPHRAIM— A competition sponsored by the GRIT Center for Rural Entrepreneurship at Snow College, Zions Bank, and the Snow College Business Department produced winners who were honored at a banquet in the Snow College Noyes Building last Wednesday.
The GRIT Center helps beginning Snow College students accelerate their success by learning how to bootstrap businesses through hands-on entrepreneurial experience. The acronym GRIT stands for Grassroots, Resourceful, Innovative and Tenacious, emphasizing the core values students are taught. Programs include workshops, networking, coaching, student business competitions, seed funding, seminars and community outreach.
Crystal Call, who won the Tenacious Award, said, “I was excited to participate and win in the Opportunity Quest, and I now have the resources I need to sell my Badger Blue cupcakes at Snow College and in the community.”
Winners of the Opportunity Quest competition are: People’s Choice Video Award: Ben Scheffner and Ayman Aqachar, Moroccan Sweets $500; Audience Choice Award: Jared Christensen, Emergency Response Innovations $500, Jared also won the most innovative award, for another $1,500; Most Grassroots: Reach My Goal – Kathryn Christensen $750; Most Tenacious: Campus Cupcakes – Crystal Call $500; Most Resourceful: Christensen Brothers Cattle – Garrett Christensen $1000; and GRIT Prize: TheGuitarHacks.com – Dallin Aston $2000.
The Opportunity Quest competition, managed by the GRIT Center for Rural Entrepreneurship at Snow College handed out a total of $6,750 in prize money.
Opportunity Quest was designed for students to test a business idea, learn business skills and receive feedback. Ideas may vary from early concept to a legally formed entity.
The Snow College Opportunity Quest is one of 11 competitions hosted around the state of Utah at other colleges and universities. The winners from each of these competitions automatically qualify to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (UEC) top 20 in the spring. Jared Christensen, this year’s GRIT winner, will automatically advance to that competition.
Each team in the Snow College Opportunity Quest must have at least one full-time Snow student to participate.
