From boom to...not bust!
It was anything but a case of boom to bust for Edenderry students Shauna Bannon Ward and Samantha Brennan this week, as their project “The Boom Book” picked up first place in the intermediate category of the Student Enterprise Award national finals.
The students at Oaklands Community College in Edenderry had already tasted success at the Offaly Student Enterprise Awards earlier this year, and last Wednesday the two 14 year olds saw that topped with national honours, a trophy and a €400 cash prize.
“The Boom Book” project consists of two books of science experiments for five to ten year olds. Using common household products and simple instructions, Shauna and Samantha tried to encourage the practical, experimental side of science and bring fun into the subject for young school goers. As part of the project the two also ran science demonstrations in local primary schools as a marketing tool for “The Boom Book”.
In all 300 student entrepreneurs from 83 companies competed at the national finals. The winner of the senior category of the competition also had a science theme, with a game based on science experiment called “Squeazy” the overall winner. In the junior category the winning entry was revealed as “Chook Book”, a series of books about keeping chickens.
CEO of Offaly County Enterprise Board Sean Ryan was one of the first to congratulate Shauna and Samantha on their win yesterday.
“These young entrepreneurs are to be commended for their tremendous success at yesterday’s awards which has brought national attention to themselves, their school and their county,” he said. “The effort, energy and enthusiasm they have put into their business is wonderful to see in such young students and there is no doubt they will go far with Offaly Enterprise Board looking forward to supporting them along the way.”
Chair of the Enterprise Education Committee with the County and City Enterprise Boards Loman O’Byrne added his congratulations too. “The winning student enterprises today are the leaders of business tomorrow and the Student Enterprise Programme is delighted to be able to play a key role in fostering that entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.
'Displaying innovation and business acumen, these winning students and indeed all the students who took part in the programme since September are laying the groundwork now for exciting and prosperous futures that will ultimately have a positive impact on Ireland and its future economy.”