The Shark Tank Program is an exciting opportunity for students to unleash their creativity and develop essential communication skills by pitching their own community project ideas to a panel of “Sharks,” just like the popular TV show. Selected projects will move beyond the pitch, allowing students to collaborate with their teams and a supervisor to bring their visions to life, managing every stage from planning to execution. This hands-on experience encourages teamwork, innovation, and leadership, while promoting a sense of community impact.
While the idea of presenting might feel intimidating, students are rest assured that plenty of support is available throughout the process.
- Timeline: September-October 2024
- September 14th- Past AAS Projects/Brainstorming Session
- September 21st- Planning workshops (how to write a proposal, brainstorming)
- October 5th- Public speaking workshop
- Project guidelines: Project should address or solve a real-world problems
- Community service (trash clean up, food drives, etc)
- Educating the Community (Roversity, Go Green, etc)
- Partnering with community organizations (GMU@VSA, Rotary Club, Asians @ Amazon)
- It can be of any scale, so long as it is feasible
- Incentives:
- Increased consideration for Incentive Awards // “Student of the Season”
- Will factor into end of the year reviews / level up process
Will be taken into account for scholarship selection processes, for example Ebnstein Scholarship, Empathy Awards, Outward Bound Scholarship Program
- Result: We are thrilled to announce the success of this year’s Shark Tank program, where we reviewed five incredible pitches. After careful consideration, two outstanding projects were selected to be implemented next year. These projects stood out for their impactful vision and practical execution plans, and we are excited to see them come to life.
- Selected Project 1: Education Camp
- Leads: Hillary Nguyen & Mason Le
- Supervisors:
- Planning: Dave Nguyen
- Execution: Angela Le & Lara Tran
- Team Members: Chelsea Bui
- Summary: This project aims to create an education camp to serve underprivileged students in the DMV area. The camp will focus on advanced SOL curriculum topics in Math and English for 4th and 5th graders, with a tutor-to-student ratio of 1:4. The program includes three 90-minute sessions, featuring hands-on instruction using visuals and worksheets and providing meals to participants.
- Selected Project 2: Bridging the Future & BizHarmony (Combined)
- Lead: Kingston Ho
- Supervisors: Liem Nguyen & Angela Le
- Team Members: Aashee Balani, Nathan Le, Leo Tran
- Summary: This innovative project combines the goals of fostering connections between college and high school students with professional and personal growth. The networking event will provide opportunities for students to build relationships and enhance their skills while introducing new members to AASuccess.
We are incredibly proud of all the students who participated and look forward to the positive impact these projects will have on the community next year.
