On Wednesday, students from Wheeling Country Day School were the living embodiment of those words and the trailblazing spirit behind them as the school and Wheeling Heritage teamed up to present the Youth Show of Hands – a student-led entrepreneurial showcase at the Wheeling Artisan Center.

Modeled after Wheeling Heritage’s long-running Show of Hands program, now in its 12th year, the youth event invited middle school students to develop and pitch original business ideas to a live audience. Attendees cast votes with a $5 donation, and all proceeds supported the students’ ventures.

Four finalist teams competed. Writely, a website designed to feature youth writers, emerged as the winner, raising more than $900 to launch their platform. Other finalists included Wheeling E-Sports Gaming League (WESGEL), Community Art Room, and a Complex Mobile Obstacle Course.

“This is designed through a youth lens,” said Joe Jividen, Learning on Location coordinator at Wheeling Country Day School. “We wanted students to think about what they would like to see in their community, how to improve it, and who they could partner with to make it happen.”

Photo by Stephanie Elverd Joe Jividen, Learning on Location coordinator at Wheeling Country Day School, and Riley Carpenter of Wheeling Heritage welcome attendees to the Youth Show of Hands at the Wheeling Artisan Center.

Jividen described the Shark Tank-style format as an authentic real-world experience.

“Anybody in the audience that may want to help get them off the ground has a chance to do so,” he said. “We started with eight groups and narrowed it down to four finalists. Each represents a unique approach — from connecting kids in person through gaming leagues to supporting young artists to a rental obstacle course which is designed to get kids active to publishing youth writers online.”

Beyond the excitement of pitching ideas, Jividen stressed that the event was designed to teach students valuable skills that extend far beyond the classroom.”

“I want them to take away that there are two very real sets of skills that go into starting a business. Some of them being the soft skills – whether it be the communication or leadership – but also they had to write a pretty extensive business plan that our goal was to stress test and poke holes in,’ he said. “So I hope they find that balance between relationships and dollars and cents. Real-world application but also ‘hey I need to communicate, I need to be a member of the community and no one person finds success without the help of others.'”

He also emphasized the importance of community engagement and giving young people a voice in shaping their surroundings.

Photo by Stephanie Elverd Tesla Joseph serves as one of the emcees during the Youth Show of Hands, guiding the audience through presentations by the middle school finalists.

“I always try to instill in the kids that no matter how young you are, you have agency in your community. So whether it’s attending a city council meeting or community clean-up, I don’t encourage them to listen when somebody says ‘wait your turn or you’re not old enough or you don’t understand,'” Jividen said. “I hope that people in the community tonight walk away going ‘these are the next generation of leaders’ and to start listening to them and collaborating with them now. I just hope they are impressed as much as I am with these kids.”

Jividen thanked the Wheeling Heritage for making the event possible and shared enthusiasm.

“Thinking I had an original idea, I approached Riley Carpenter at Wheeling Heritage. I pitched her on this idea only to find out about 20 minutes after I stopped talking that she had also pitched it and written the curriculum to go with it,” he said. “I asked if she would entertain doing this with us and her first answer was yes. There was no hesitation. We worked closely every week over the 12 weeks and really nailed everything from kids’ ideas to the logistics of tonight. [Wheeling Heritage] is hosting us in their space and they have been really wonderful partners. I couldn’t ask for more.”

The 12-week process gave students opportunities to brainstorm, collaborate and refine their ideas. It also gave them a crash course in business.

“I want them to take away that there are two very real sets of skills that go into starting a business. Some of them being the soft skills – whether it be the communication or leadership – but also they had to write a pretty extensive business plan that our goal was to stress test and poke holes in.” he said. So I hope they find that balance between relationships and dollars and cents – real-world application but also taking away that ‘hey I need to communicate, I need to be a member of the community and no one person finds success without the help of others.'”

Photo by Stephanie Elverd Melody Petras sings for attendees at the Wheeling Artisan Center prior to the start of the Youth Show of Hands, a student-led entrepreneurial showcase hosted by Wheeling Country Day School and Wheeling Heritage.

The finalist teams and students were: Writely, the winner, featuring Frankie Caruso, Gavin Skrzypek, Chad Stradwick, Caleb Demarest and Connor Boyd; Wheeling E-Sports Gaming League (WESGEL), with Liam Flanigan, Preston Gergory, Lincoln Ochap and Miles Mudder; Community Art Room, including Kaya Kolb, Braelynn Taylor, Camille Burke, Rosey Bownlee, Cara Croft, Zoe Baum and Taylor Gillipsie; and the Complex Mobile Obstacle Course team, made up of Madison Porter, Layla Kalcum, Isaac Demarest, Parker Wolfe and Greyson Lovell.

The event was emceed by students Tesla Joseph and Sero Swan, who guided the audience through the evening and introductions for each presenting team.

The evening also featured live music by Melody Petras, light refreshments provided by Wheeling Country Day School, and a professionally produced experience with full audio-visual support. While the event was streamed online, voting took place in person, allowing attendees to directly support Wheeling’s youngest innovators.