After Kent State students competed in the Idea Olympics hosted by Blackstone Launchpad last Thursday, the first place team — students who presented their ideas for a children’s costume line — will move on to the regional competition to present its idea.

The competition will be on March 31 at Lorain County Community College, said Senior Marketing Manager Zach Mikrut.

Ten finalists presented their proposals to a panel of judges. Judges gave advice to the student entrepreneurs about how to better their presentations and their products.

First prize went to Joshua Bird, Allison Frasier and Rachel Volcheck, all senior visual communication design majors, for their costume line for children.

While they chose to not give complete details on their product as the product is still in the patenting process, they described it as a children’s costume line that promotes individuality, creativity and imagination. The costume line is designed to combine “experience and retail,” Bird said.

Complete information about the products and ideas cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality and privacy before patents.

Second place was awarded to a composting program for Kent.

Michael George, sophomore environmental biology major, won the social mission prize for his plan to establish a composting program on Kent’s campus. He described composting as “the next big step in sustainability.”

Kirsten Warner, senior fashion design major, won third prize. She designs protective activewear for her company, called OnePrize Performance. She has a background in figure skating where she said she saw a need for this product to allow athletes more flexibility and movement.

Judges gave constructive feedback to the presenters to help them develop their product presentations and prepare for the regional competition.

Karen Hilderbrand, CEO of Twin Sisters Productions and one of the presenters, said she was very impressed with the competitors this year.

“I was really impressed with the caliber of presentations,” she said. “It was above what I’ve seen before at other competitions.”

Contact Ellie Enselein at [email protected].