STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Won $5000 at McNeese Business Pitch Contest!!!

Joel won first place and $5000 at the 2023 McNeese Business Pitch Competition for his shoe customizing business. But before the contest, he put in a lot of hard work at school where he wrote his pitch, practiced the pitch with students, and received constructive feedback. A little while later, he taught a shoe customizing class to the students at Acton Academy. Joel also designed shoes for his first (future) professional athlete, Kirkland Banks. And it's a REALLY big deal in this industry to work with professional athletes! His shoe customizing business continues to operate to this day, even after he graduated in 2025.

Nearly Purchased an Investment Property Before Graduating!

Andrew and Lucas, two of our older students, were interested in finances and, after meeting with and shadowing numerous professionals in the field, decided to focus on real estate investing. Eventually, we decided that Nathan Rose, a local realtor and real estate investor, would serve as their mentor. The students began by mapping out this area, while driving and recording the addresses of possible investment properties. Students then returned to school to research and find the owners of the selected homes and gather contact information. Next, the students began making calls to property owners. Although I made the first few calls in order to teach the students, eventually they began to make the calls. Although they were never able to actually purchase a property, they did have a meeting with a homeowner in Westlake and a general contractor. However, they decided the cost of repairs would not make the deal worth it. However, both students learned so much and did a great job with their student presentation.

A 17-Year Old Phlebotomist?

After interviewing a local Imperial Health surgeon, Peyton decided that she wanted to be a nurse. After being able to observe (we call this shadowing at Bethel) two live births and a C-section, she felt that she had made the right choice! She also heard Ben Carson, the famous neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate, speak on National Prayer Day!! Last but not least, she took a phlebotomy course off-campus. She passed this college-level course with flying colors before she enrolled at Sowela in nursing! To answer our question, Aubrey had had the knowledge and skill to take someone’s blood at 17 years old, but the law does not currently allow it. :(

Other Amazing Achievements

• Scooby, our first junior high student, decided to pursue art, which led him into photography and learning from Leroy Tademy of Tademy’s Photography. Eventually, he began designing vinyl stickers, which he sold at the Sale Street Baptist Church car show.

• Pedro organized and directed Maplewood First Baptists' first-ever car show, where he met with vendors, marketed the car show, and organized 40 volunteers. There were 65 car and motorcycle entries and he raised $4765 for at-risk children in Ukraine!

• Brenna often shadowed at University Animal Hospital, where she observed numerous animal surgeries!

• Ralph started his own window-washing business and planned on one day being like Youtuber Josh Lester, who at 16 years old was making over $90,000 annually!