Taking home a check worth $1,500 in scholarship money, senior Elysia Chao took second place in the 2013 First National Bank Business Plan Competition. The news was delivered to her in her second class period May 15, as a surprise by First National Bank’s marketing manager Mimsy Winston.

According to Winston, the competition was offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors who attend a Blue Valley high school. The challenge was to think of a new business idea and illustrate it in a written plan, then present the project to a team of business anchors at the bank. Chao said her idea was a website to connect teachers and students in a way to allow teachers to work with other students that don’t necessarily attend their school.

“I came up with this idea when a friend who took Latin was complaining about how she couldn’t get much help outside of school,” Chao said. “It’s kind of hard to find other Latin teachers out there, so the website could create a profile for teachers who want to teach their subject outside of school, and students can look them up.”

Chao said if everything goes as planned, the website, silverstarlearning.com, should be up and running by the fall of 2014. Either a loan or a personal investment will be needed for the startup, and Chao said it is a little bit of a risk, but after analyzing the amount of people that would potentially use this website and are supportive of it, she believes it will be successful in the long run.

“I worked really hard on this plan and hope it will pay off in the future,” Chao said. “It’s definitely already starting to pay off though, I was so surprised when I was presented with the money and the second place finish. This is awesome.”

The money will most likely help pay for her second year of college classes at Johnson
County Community College, Chao said. She plans to major in International Business, and she thinks this competition as well as other marketing opportunities at BVNW have helped shape her future.