ON APRIL 13, 2022, SPU returned to an in-person showcase for its 16th Social Venture Plan Competition after going online for two years during the pandemic. Student teams developed solutions to a wide range of social problems from reducing carbon emissions, to chronic pain management, to vaccine distribution in the developing world.
My Monster Monitor, an app that will make a game of entering necessary data for Type 1 diabetes, won the $5,000 Herbert B. Jones Grand Prize, as well as the Donald B. Summers People’s Choice award of $1,000. Nearly 250,000 children in the U.S. suffer from Type 1 diabetes. Research suggests the disease can be better regulated if a patient engages in the management process.
The My Monster Monitor app creates games using fun monster characters to engage and educate kids about their bodies and their disease. The My Monster Monitor team included senior business administrator majors Faith Stehr, Manny Diaz, and Joshua Erme; junior business administration major Jeanell Vergara; senior visual communication major Jenna Rasmussen; and senior Lydia Porter, who has a self-designed music business major.
Ultropia won $3,000 as the second-place winner of the SVPC. Ultropia seeks to foster global access to clean laundry while reducing water consumption and carbon emissions. The team is developing the first all-in-one ultrasonic washer and dryer to increase access to laundry machines and improve sanitation, all while providing a resource-, energy-, and time-saving product. The Ultropia team was made up of University of Washington students Cody Birkland, a master of engineering student, and Lloyd Dees, a master of entrepreneurship student.
“I was extremely impressed by the level of professionalism exhibited by all participants, and the students’ passion for their projects was especially uplifting,” said returning volunteer judge Frances Walker, a social impact consultant.
The competition is organized by the Center for Applied Learning in the School of Business, Government, and Economics at SPU.
By the numbers
SOCIAL VENTURE PLAN COMPETITION
16: The number of times SPU has held the SVPC event
21: business plans, representing nearly 100 students from three schools, were reviewed and scored by community partners this year
$173K: The amount of prize money awarded over 16 years of the competition
