High School Students Awarded UT Tyler Scholarships for Entrepreneurial Ideas
April 12, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan
Two students at The University of Texas at Tyler University Academy Tyler campus won
the 2024 East Texas High School Idea Challenge, the region’s premier innovation competition
for high school students at UT Tyler.
First-place winners Umama Khan and Olivia Hall, UA-Tyler seniors, each received a $5,000 UT Tyler scholarship. Their winning project, Vitaband, is an idea for a wristband that monitors patients’ key vitals and connects them to a health care professional. Kiley Salser, a sophomore from Pine Tree High School, placed second and received a $2,500 UT Tyler scholarship. Her business venture, Glistening Gardens, transforms lawns into flourishing gardens with expert planting, soil care and ongoing maintenance supplies.
Teams and individuals were judged based on project innovation, creativity and potential for real-world application.
“These talented individuals represent the future of innovation in East Texas, and the scholarships provided will support their academic journey at the university, furthering their potential to become the inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” said Brandon Reynolds, director of the ETX LaunchPad at UT Tyler. “We thank all participants for their hard work and dedication, and look forward to continuing to foster a spirit of innovation in the years to come.”
The East Texas High School Idea Challenge is part of ETX New Venture Day at UT Tyler. Registration for next year’s challenge will open in August, Reynolds added.
The ETX LaunchPad at UT Tyler works to improve economic development through entrepreneurship and innovation programming. Its mission is to ignite creativity and drive impactful change, empowering individuals to transform ideas into thriving ventures and contribute to the growth of East Texas. To register teams or for more information, contact Reynolds at breynolds@uttyler.edu, or call 903.565.6459.
With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.