PORTLAND, Ore. – Four Lewis & Clark basketball student-athletes participated in the sixth Winterim program The Bates Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership put on during the second week of January.  
 
Chrys Hutchings, Director of the Bates Center, describes Winterm as "an exhausting week with more than 60 mentors, speakers, judges, and AMAs (Ask Me Anything speed networking), ten talks, and workshops." The 27 students work in teams of three or four to develop a unique product they pitch during a competition at the end of the week, where they can win cash prizes and a spot in the state competition.
 
Past Winterims have had many Lewis & Clark student-athletes forego the last week of their winter break and participate in this exciting opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial interests and gain valuable experience.
 
Women's basketball juniors Natalie Elstone, Ashley Young, and Jamison Richards, along with men's basketball junior Jayden Simpson, immersed themselves into the week-long experience, while honoring their commitments to their athletic teams and preparing for weekend basketball games. All four student-athletes described the experience as challenging, humbling, unique, and inspiring. Young commented that the days with basketball practice on top of Winterim were long and hard, but fun. 
Regarding the pitch competition, Hutchings said, "the students have insufficient time, information, and resources and still execute. They make friends, they collaborate, and they miss it the day after it is over."
 
Elstone and her Winterim team, SenseAir, took first place in the pitch competition with a mold detection device for homes and businesses. SenseAir's device commercializes existing mold detection technology and links to an app that can be used to view real-time data remotely.
 
"To have won was amazing. I didn't expect it at the beginning of the week," said Elstone, "I think I was a little intimidated at the beginning of the week. A little nervous about doing a pitch in front of people. All our hard work paid off, and our group got along super well."
 
Hutchings explained that student-athletes "sometimes come in a little bit unsure because many have not had much work experience since they've spent their summers playing sports. But they are game, and we like that." She also added, "we love our athletes."
 
As the competition winners, SenseAir won a cash prize of $3,500, plus a legal start-up package of $3,500 from Facet Legal, LLC. They also qualify for the Invent Oregon (InventOR) State Competition in the spring. 
 
Young was a member of team Silver Safe. During the initial team meeting, all three members of Silver Safe mentioned they wanted to help the elderly. They developed a bracelet targeted at aging individuals and individuals diagnosed with degenerative mental diseases. Silver Safe also qualified for the InventOR competition and was awarded $500 to continue researching and prototyping their device, which they envision as a middle ground between a Life Alert bracelet and a smartwatch. The bracelet would allow the wearer to access emergency communication while maintaining independence.
 
Young concluded, "It's cool to see how much I do know and what skills I do have, if I want to apply and do entrepreneurship." She enjoyed learning ways to use her psychology degree with an economics minor for careers that aren't counseling or strictly finance.
 
Richards' team developed a brand called Break The Ice. They created a wristband targeted at young people to help them make real-life connections. Richards pointed out that "22% of young people say they have no friends. It's been a huge problem and has even gotten bigger after COVID because many people are used to making new connections on social media or dating apps and have trouble making friends in real life."
 
The wristband would be connected to an app where a person would input what they are looking for, some conversation starters, or some of their interests. "The idea was that if you saw someone in public with a Break The Ice wristband on, you would be able to see that they're open to new connections," explained Richards, "and you'd be able to find their profile (based on location) in the app." The catch with the brand is that a person cannot use the app to communicate. It helps facilitate a real in-person connection based on the information you receive. Team Break The Ice was awarded $1,000 for "Best Understanding of the Problem."
 
Simpson spoke about his time at Winterim, stating, "I feel I was also able to not only build great relationships with my partners but also work on myself and my own collaborative skills in a working environment." His team developed a financial literacy company to teach young adults key financial tools to a comfortable life. "Through this, I learned a wide range of important business strategies from design thinking to customer validation," added Simpson. "Most importantly, I got to improve on the terrifying skill of public speaking, which I believe will be a crucial strength in the future!"
 
When asked what student-athletes bring to Winterim that is different from the general student population, Hutchings said, "We tell our athletes that employers love them, not only because they are coachable, understand collaboration, and have a hard work ethic, but for another big reason--they can handle candid conversation when they respect the source. They take it seriously, but not personally. Employers love that."
 
She added, "the difference between a student who is inexperienced vs. promising (it's the same student) is simply whether or not someone has met them. After Winterim, 60 professionals see these students as promising."
 
All four basketball student-athletes recommend Winterim for any Lewis & Clark student interested in enhancing their college education. Richards' biggest takeaway was the inspiration. Simpson said it was the best experience he has had in his three years at Lewis & Clark. Young said the week was definitely worth it. Elstone concluded, "Division III is such a blessing to be able to do things like this for my potential career and my love for basketball."