It was Pitch Day for the students in You Matter 2’s NextGEN summer internship program. The 14 interns waited patiently for their turn. All were neatly dressed in business attire and ready to make their appeal for funding.

So what is Pitch Day? 

Think Shark Tank for aspiring nonprofit agency leaders, who in this case were high school seniors and college freshmen.

NextGEN is one of several programs offered by You Matter 2, a Flossmoor nonprofit that offers programming to empower and educate South Suburban youth. The agency was founded by Destiny Watson.

“The NextGEN internship is more than a summer program. It’s a hands-on experience designed to prepare high school students for the real world through entrepreneurship, teamwork and professional development,” said You Matter 2 staff member Kalyn Victor, who oversaw the eight-week paid internship program this summer. 

On Pitch Day, the interns presented business and social impact ideas to a panel of local professionals, Victor said.

Earlier in the summer,  student teams chose a career track such as Arts and Media, STEM, Business or Healthcare and Public Service, Victor said. They then identified a problem and came up with a solution. They practiced their presentations, got feedback from a panel of judges and used that feedback to make their presentations stronger for Pitch Day. 

The Pitch Day event was held at the Discover Center’s Shine Bright Community Center in Chicago. The panel of judges, ranging from educators to business leaders, heard and scored the students well prepared pitches. 

Five teams made up of two to three interns competed for bragging rights. Judges used a rubric to score each team’s presentations and choose a winner.

The Trinity was up first. Team members Deenah Fitzpatrick, Amir Evans and Ryan Jackson all are rising seniors at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Their topic was fake news and bias in the media.

“We live in a digital age. People just love spreading misinformation,” said Fitzpatrick during her team’s presentation

“We feel like we need to make a change,” said Evans, Fitzpatrick’s teammate.

They proceeded to make a strong case about why this was a problem and what could be done about it. The judges liked the team’s smooth transitions and eye contact  

This same talented trio also made and shared a video at the end of the event chronicling the NextGen intern’s summer.

The next team up to present was STEM Consultants. Asa Quarles, a freshman at Northern Illinois University and Deja Williams, a senior at H-F High School addressed the lack of diversity in STEM and the systemic barriers to diversity in STEM.

“We need inclusion,” Williams said. The duo went on to present a well-thought-out presentation on how to increase diversity in STEM professions. The judges again liked that the team made eye contact and that Williams moved around the room as she talked.

The third team to compete was M.B.A. Members Naa’Irah Ali, a freshman at Bethune Cookman University; Bryia Orr, a senior at Thornwood High School and Mackenzie Coleman, a senior at H-F High School. Their topic was why drug use in the workplace is not OK. The judges liked their smooth transitions, confidence and that the project was well researched.

Kare Unity was up next. Joshua Clay, a senior at H-F High School; K’Mahria Vaughn, a freshman at Bradley University and Shavae Leonard, a freshman at Blinn College made up the team. They talked about nurse burnout and how to prevent it. The team engaged people with questions and by sharing personal experiences. One student shared that her Mom was a nurse who worked during  COVID. The team talked about how the burnout nurses experienced during that pandemic.

The judges noted that Kare Unity worked well as a team. They also liked that the team went the extra mile and interviewed a nurse.

The final group was TrioSync. Team members Gabriella Olugbemi, a senior at H-F High School; Lorin Metoyer, a freshman at Moraine Valley and Jenesys Harris, a freshman at Florida A&M University, and they walked in poised and ready to present. The trio talked about the importance of anesthesia and how desperately many countries in East Africa need it. They shared stories that gave a face to their issue and moved the audience. In a seamless presentation, all three exuded confidence and spoke knowledgeably about their topic. 

Before announcing the winning team, the judges praised all of the teams for their professionalism and excellent presentations. 

TrioSync took first place in the competition with a whopping 299 out of 300 score. The judges loved that TrioSync had an implementation plan, something they said none of the other teams had.

Feedback from the judges about TrioSync included: “This was a master class on how to do this,” “You used logic. You painted very vivid pictures about what was going on and played off our emotions.”

The team was thrilled about their victory. M.B.A., another strong team, came in second place. Judges admired their clarity, delivery and smooth transitions.

“It felt amazing,”  said Olugbemi of her team’s first place finish. Teammate Lorin Metoyer echoed that sentiment and talked about how well the team worked together.

Olugbemi shared that public speaking used to be her biggest fear, but that being in the NextGen program gave her the confidence she needed to excel at it.

Harris said that once TrioSync found its topic, they focused on why this resource (anesthesia) was not abundant and what the solution was. TrioSync agreed that regular practices, sometimes held daily, made all of the difference. It allowed them to tweak and hone their presentation.

The adults in the room all commended the students on a job well done. 

“Supervising the NextGen internship this summer was such a rewarding experience. I got to see each student step out of their comfort zone, build new skills and grow more confident week by week,” Victor said. “Watching them support one another and take pride in their work reminded me why investing in youth isn’t optional — it’s essential. I’m genuinely proud of how far they’ve come.”

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