Business Academy has Strong Showing at tecBRIDGE's 21st Annual Business Plan Competition

Wilkes-Barre Area's Business Academy had a strong showing in its first appearance at tecBRIDGE's 21st Annual Business Plan Competition. The Times Leader interviewed one of our Academy teachers. The Times Leader article states, "Dr. Renee Pizzella, an instructor at Wilkes-Barre Area’s Business Academy, couldn’t stop gushing over her students. It was the school’s first time entering the competition and not only were her students finalists in the High School Division, but one of them, Charlie Litwin, was also a finalist for the Big Idea Essay.

'They put their heart and soul into it,' Pizzella said.

When Pizzella and her students began brainstorming back in the fall, she 'challenged' them to find a problem in their community that they, as kids, could solve.

From that, Store Steps was born.

'The idea behind it is to help the visually impaired be able to gain independence by grocery shopping using an audio app that will guide them to the product,' she explained.

Pizzella and her students partnered with Wegmans Grocery Store in Wilkes-Barre to develop the app and spent hours physically measuring the distance from the front door to the product.

The whole process required a lot of mentoring and as a business owner herself, Pizzella was excited to help her students learn from her own mistakes. The response was so positive that next year, Wilkes-Barre Area Business School will begin offering a class on entrepreneurship.

'It doesn’t end tonight,' Pizzella said. 'It continues.”