Spark Competition

Author: Jeramy Perez

SWAU's 2022 Spark Competition was fun to participate in alongside my team. I thought I would be the odd one out in this competition since I'm just a pre-med student. To my surprise, it turned out that there were many students from all types of degrees in the contest! Listening to everyone's pitches from the profit and non-profit divisions was entertaining and exciting. Hearing ideas from entrepreneurs was insightful and gave me hope that we have a bright future.

I participated in the non-profit division with the Instagram page: SWAU.Fit_, but I didn't know there would be great competition in my division! It was fun to pitch to the judges, and

it felt like I was on a shark tank episode. I didn't think I would be nervous since I like to speak to people, but something about the bright lights and the judges attentively listening changed that! I found myself shaking a little bit even though, in my mind, I was saying, "We're chilling."

Our initial pitch went better than expected, and I realized that the questioning time would determine if we got first place. I took a deep breath in, and when the questions began to roll out, I knew exactly what to say! Now it felt like an actual conversation, and it was fun to talk to the judges while the crowd listened.

I did not perform to perfection, but the experience gained from the competition is what I will carry on!

Our initial pitch went better than expected, and I realized that the questioning time would determine if we got first place. I took a deep breath in, and when the questions began to roll out, I knew exactly what to say! Now it felt like an actual conversation, and it was fun to talk to the judges while the crowd listened. I did not perform to perfection, but the experience gained from the competition is what I will carry on!