Serving as a judge, Principal Stephen Murray, seated, asks a question of the Hall Pass Heroes group, which includes junior Chris Kurbs, freshman Theo Frias and sophomore Cameron Panzeri.

CHELMSFORD – Are you a young adult who struggles with keeping track of your finances? Do you oftentimes find yourself lacking the motivation to study?

Students in Chelmsford High School’s Entrepreneurship class have taken real-world problems just like these and developed creative solutions. On Friday, Nov. 7, they pitched their ideas to a panel of judges in a “Shark Tank”-style competition.

The project-based learning exercise was developed by the DifferenceMaker program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The collaboration between CHS, the Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell and the DifferenceMaker program has provided students an opportunity to experience working as a team in a challenging environment and develop the confidence to pitch their idea to a panel of judges.

“This has become an unbelievably beneficial relationship for us,” said Tom Sousa, business education teacher at CHS.

This year, six teams pitched projects. The presentations included:

• ULU, an AI-powered goal and productivity system.
• Hall Pass Heroes, a fantasy football-inspired game to help encourage and motivate teenagers to study.
• Gryd Fitness, an app to track calories and exercise in order to make it easier for people to lose weight or bulk up.
• Wallet Watch, an app that educates users about financial literacy and helps them manage their spending.
• Fresh Path Initiative, a program designed to help curb underage drinking among high school students.
• R.O.A.M., an app aimed at motivating its users to get off the couch and get active.

Judges for the competition were Jaunita Green, youth business specialist with MassHire Greater Lowell; Kathryn Sullivan, CHS social studies teacher; Gerry Nutter, liaison for youth business development with MassHire Greater Lowell; Jessica Ferronetti, CHS Spanish teacher; and CHS Principal Stephen Murray.

Following the presentations, the judges deliberated and recognized Fresh Path Initiative as the top performing team, comprising senior David Pham, junior Amy Gitau and sophomore Manny Guzman. The group advanced to the 7^th annual UMass Lowell High School Rocket Pitch competition on Nov. 12.