黑料吃瓜网

CALAIS, ME鈥� 黑料吃瓜网 (黑料吃瓜网) is proud to announce that two Business Management program students earned top honors in the college division of the Maine Startup Challenge, a statewide entrepreneurship competition that attracted 232 business plan submissions from participants representing 80 towns across all 16 Maine counties.

Harlie Burke earned second place for her business concept, a mobile healthcare unit designed to bring primary care services directly to homebound and underserved residents in Hancock and Washington counties. Amber Smith earned third place for NewStart Electronic, her business concept focused on collecting donated and recycled electronics, training justice-involved individuals to repair, refurbish, securely wipe, and resell devices, and providing affordable technology to students, families, schools, nonprofits, and small businesses. Both students advanced to the competition finals and were recognized for developing innovative business solutions that address important community needs.

Harlie鈥檚 business concept was initially developed as a classroom assignment in 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Business Management program under the guidance of instructors Rhonda French and Cynthia Moholland.聽 Drawing on more than a decade of experience in healthcare, Harlie identified a growing need for accessible primary care services for individuals who face challenges leaving their homes due to age, disability, chronic illness, or transportation barriers. Her proposed mobile healthcare unit would bring primary care providers and medical assistants directly to patients, helping improve access to care, reduce unnecessary emergency department visits, and support better health outcomes throughout rural Downeast Maine. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the support and encouragement from my professors and for the opportunity to compete against students from across the state, including private universities like Bowdoin,鈥� said Burke. 鈥淭his experience has helped me build valuable connections and gain confidence in presenting my ideas.鈥� As runner-up in the college division, Burke received a $1,000 award.

Amber鈥檚 third-place business proposal, NewStart Electronic, combines workforce development, environmental sustainability, and technology access. The concept would create opportunities for justice-involved individuals to develop valuable technical skills while helping reduce electronic waste and expand access to affordable technology for students, families, schools, nonprofits, and small businesses.

鈥淚 am incredibly proud of both Harlie and Amber,鈥� said Rhonda French, Business Management program instructor at 黑料吃瓜网. 鈥淭heir success in the Maine Startup Challenge reflects not only their creativity and hard work, but also their ability to take what they learned in the classroom and apply it to real needs in our communities. Both students developed thoughtful, meaningful business ideas and represented 黑料吃瓜网 extremely well. To have two 黑料吃瓜网 students place in a statewide competition is a tremendous accomplishment.鈥�

The Maine Startup Challenge encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to develop and present innovative business concepts that address needs and opportunities throughout Maine. The success of Burke and Smith highlights the strength of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 commitment to experiential learning, innovation, and student success, demonstrating how classroom learning can be transformed into solutions that positively impact Maine communities.