BET Makes History 2021-2022
Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge: L.A. and New York
For an unprecedented 5th consecutive year, BET Magnet conquers the New York National Youth Entrepreneurship Finals. Ivy Chieng and Jaydon Tsan, and their families will be flown to New York to compete for the best business plan against the top 34 high school students across the country. Ivy and Jaydon earned this honor by winning against 3 high school students in the L.A. Metro Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
 Ivy at L.A. Metro Regional Finals
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Ivy Chieng invented SwigSafe, which features a discreet napkin that changes colors as it detects the most common and new date rape drugs. Ivy created her business to counter the horrible reality that millions of women across the world are date-raped and victims of violence.
In total, Ivy Chieng earned $9,000.00 in scholarships and prizes:
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 Jaydon (left) and family
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Jaydon Tsan won 2nd place, earning $1,000, and earned admission to the NFTE West Startup Summer Program where he received an additional $1,000 stipend and $500.00 to launch his business.
Jaydon also became the first male BET Magnet student to reach the New York finals. Since 2018, BET students who have made it to the national finals have all been female students. Jaydon invented Book World, a reading app that encourages and gamifies reading by earning currency and creating virtual worlds.
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NFTE West Startup Summer Program
 Summer Arias
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Summer Arias, Aylin Espinosa, and Ivy Chieng earned a trip to New York for winning in the NFTE-Summer Camp.
20 applicants were accepted to the program. 18 were BET Magnet students. Historically held at USC for 6 weeks, this program helps students develop their business plans. Admitted students receive $1,000.00 stipends, $500.00 for business expenses, mentorship from industry experts, field trips across Los Angeles including, as well as have opportunities to earn $10,000.00 scholarships.
Ivy placed 2nd (versus a high school student) and earned $2,500 for her business, SwigSafe, and Summer and Aylin Espinosa took 3rd place worth $1,500 for “Smart Charger,” a device that increases and extends the life of battery and activates auto shut-off when smart phones overheat.
Aylin Espinosa |
 Aylin Espinosa
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The runners up receiving $500 each were: Stephanie Ramirez, (Eshine); Tyler Cheng, (Lablex); Derek Hoong (BlueGlaze); Angela Chen & Zi Qi Deng (Infin). The following students made BET history by--combined with the other BET winners--having the highest number of students admitted to the program by one middle school. Isabelle Andrade; Gabriel Cortes; Ivori Chuk; Javier Garcia; Michael Tan Tan; Timothy Rivera; Kathleen Kuy; Diego Castro; Diego Amador; Jaydon Tsan.
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Virtual Enterprise: Junior Ventures National Business Pitch
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7th grade students Ashley Cruz-Suarez and Amy Wu win 1st place in the Division 1 Pitch Competition of the Virtual Enterprise: Junior Ventures National Business Competition.
The duo’s business plan, "Fresh" features an app that tracks expiration dates of food to limit food waste. The competition took place during VE's annual Youth Business Summit, a virtual and in-person business competition, and an International Trade Show, which drew more than 1,000 in-person and 10,000 online participants. VE-JV serves more than 7,000 students every year.
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Cal State University of Fullerton Titan Fast Business Pitch
 Vanessa Castillo
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BET Magnet takes top honors for the 4th consecutive year. Competing among middle, high school and college students for the best business, BET Magnet dominated the middle school division:
Competing at CSU Fullerton, BET students followed in the footsteps of their predecessors and defend their titles since in 2018.
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Games for Change Challenge: West Region |
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7th grade student Samantha Blaire Cruz won 1st place for Best Video Game in West Region (13 states).
Samantha created "Preparing the Future." Following the theme “Voice of a New Generation," Samantha created a video game “aimed to guide new young voters through life decisions and chaotic moments."
In addition to Samantha, BET Magnet also produced 4 other finalists: Xin Xin Mai; Sebastian Garcia; Sophie Yu; Izabella Rodriguez
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