Youth Stories
How Urban TEC used eye-opening VR tech to bring teen mental health into the real world
Students at two Kansas City, Kansas, high schools are tackling teen mental health issues with the help of virtual reality, shared youth and tech advocate Ina P. Montgomery. From February through April, 28 students from Wyandotte and JC Harmon high schools learned Unity programming software, identified and researched a health concern for youth ages 13…
End-of-life care platform wins top UMKC prize in young startup’s first-ever pitch competition
Serving as someone’s informal caregiver is a rewarding experience, but the pressure of being fully responsible for taking care of a loved one can take a toll on a person physically and mentally, acknowledged Nicole Staab and Rachel Blankenship. Through their startup, Rings of Care KC, they are providing support and resources for informal caregivers…
They started their own businesses; now these young founders are widening the pipeline to entrepreneurship for their peers
Aidan Hall felt the support of Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem when he launched what would become KC Handmade Goods as an eighth grader, he said; years later, the young business owner is working to pay that feeling forward. An Iowa State freshman and Shawnee Mission West graduate, Hall got his start selling duct tape wallets…
Mizzou students started making real angel investments from campus a decade ago; now they need more capital
COLUMBIA, Missouri — The college-aged leaders of Mizzou’s AACE Venture Fund are learning as they go: not just how to invest in real startups across the region, but how to make the university’s long-running student investment program sustainable. “We’re having real-world experiences — such as getting on the phone with founders, doing due diligence and…
They’re plating my jam! How a homecoming dance inspired this teen’s charcuterie business with family on board
Curating colorful boards of meats, cheeses, nuts and fruits always came natural to Bella Messmer, she shared; it wasn’t until after she started her charcuterie business that she learned that passion was passed down from her grandmother. “In the ’70s, Bella’s grandmother would host these lavish parties among other Miami socialites, and she would make…
