Emily LaPlume
  • Marketing
  • Class of 2017
  • Allenstown, NH

Emily Laplume of Allenstown, New Hampshire Wins Big At 10th Annual Elevator Pitch Competition

2017 Mar 9

Emily Laplume of Allenstown, New Hampshire Wins Big at 10th Annual Elevator Pitch Competition at Champlain College.

The finals of the 10th Annual Elevator Pitch were held Tuesday evening at Alumni Auditorium. Eighteen finalists competed for the top awards in front of a panel of nine judges from area businesses and organizations

Tim Kavanagh '86 was back as emcee for his 10th year, and Champlain Alumni Russell Martin '09, who won the entrepreneurial category in the first E-Pitch in 2007, was one of nine judges from local businesses and non-profit organizations.

Competitors were from all divisions and classes, according to Pat Boera of the Career Collaborative, which, along with BYOBiz, coordinates the event.

Every year Champlain College's Build Your Own Business (BYOBiz) Program, Career Collaborative, and the Office of Advancement collaborate to present the annual Elevator Pitch Competition. The contest requires participating students to give their 90-second pitch to an executive as they ride together in a fictional elevator.

Special thanks to the "suits":

Dr. Wes Balda of the Stiller School of Business

Tanja Hinterstoisser, Director of the Career Collaborative

Laurie Quinn, Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Since 2007, the Elevator Pitch has provided students with the opportunity to learn and practice their communication, business, and entrepreneurial skills in a simulated environment. In the finals, winners in each category earn cash prizes of $500 for first place; $300 for second place; and $100 for third place. The audience also gets to vote electronically for the "audience choice" winner in each category. The winner are:

Category: Entrepreneur

  • 1st & Audience Favorite: Prince Awhaitey, Finance 2019
  • 2nd: Aaron Millet, Game Programming 2018
  • 3rd: Emily LaPlume, Marketing 2017

Category: Job/Internship Seeker

  • 1st & Audience Favorite: Ars Sybelle Sambou Bayonne, Accounting 2017
  • 2nd: Hannah Wagner, Accounting 2017
  • 3rd: Zhomart Dairov, Finance and Business Administration 2018

Category: Nonprofit/Social Advocate

  • 1st & Audience Favorite: Julian Lopez, International Business 2017
  • 2nd: Nancy Champagne, Digital Forensics 2019
  • 3rd: Cameron Rendall, Accounting with Finance minor 2017