Dalton
Ranshaw wins $4,000 with The Guardian.
2015 Maverick Challenge regional champion Dalton Ranshaw poses with his invention, The Guardian. The
South Dearborn High School student
won $4,000 by winning the local and regional business planning competitions.
(Dearborn County, Ind.) - Making America’s schools more secure is Dalton Ranshaw’s mission. The product he developed to accomplish that mission has made him the regional champion of the Maverick Challenge high school business planning competition.
The senior at South Dearborn High School in Aurora earned $4,000 in prize money along the way.
Ranshaw wowed the judges at the Maverick Challenge regional competition held in Columbus on March 7. His invention called The Guardian and his business plan to place the device in schools set him apart among the competitors from nine other southeast Indiana counties.
“With a rise in school shootings, I thought this was something that could help save lives. If The Guardian can slow down an active shooter or even keep them from getting into a classroom, it’s done its job,” Ranshaw says.
The Guardian is a sturdy, steel brace that can be affixed to a wall adjacent to a classroom door. If an active shooter or other threat arises in a school, The Guardian – ready and accessible – can be put in place and locked in a matter of seconds to provide extra protection against an armed intruder trying to enter a room full of students. As Ranshaw explains, it is so easy that even a kindergartener can successfully deploy the device.
Showing a working prototype and video of the device in action also helped in attaining the championship, Ranshaw says.
Ranshaw had the idea for The Guardian even before entering the Maverick Challenge last fall. However, joining the competition allowed him to take that idea to the next level by creating a business plan, predicting his financials, and receiving valuable input from Dearborn County businesspeople and engineers. Pushing himself, meeting deadlines, and networking were some of the skills he learned along the way.
Dalton is the first ever Maverick Challenge regional champion from Dearborn County. He is the second consecutive South Dearborn student to win the county title.
AIM Young Professionals of Dearborn County has administered the challenge locally since 2012. AIM YP president Mike Wallace says Ranshaw’s win illustrates the organization’s belief that young people can be successful right here in Dearborn County.
“Dalton is a deserving champion. After viewing his business plan and prototype along with the extra work he put in to hone his presentation skills, we knew he would fare well at the regional,” says Wallace. “We hope other Dearborn County high school students take note and choose to enter our next Maverick Challenge.”
There is incentive to enter and to win. Becoming a regional champion earned Ranshaw a $2,000 prize, an amount that is in addition to his $2,000 prize as Dearborn County’s 2015 Maverick Challenge champion. The teen from Aurora has plans for his winnings.
“I’m going to put the money in the bank. I’m going to try to use some of it on product development and try to start advertising. If I have any extra I would probably use it for college,” says Ranshaw, who plans to attend Indiana University next fall to study human biology as his pre-medical degree.
Dalton urges other southeast Indiana high school students with a business idea – no matter how big or small – to consider participating in the Maverick Challenge when registration opens next school year.
“The Maverick Challenge is a great opportunity. You get out there and meet some wonderful people that will definitely help equip you with things that you’ll need in the future,” the champion says.
AIM Young Professionals thanks the judges of the Dearborn County-level competition for devoting their time, expertise, and advice. They are Eagle 99.3 general manager Melissa Murphy, US Bank branch manager Julie Anderson, Black Swamp Steel, Inc. senior project manager Phillip Messer, and Land Consultants project manager Eric Lang.
The organization also extends an extra special thanks to AIM Young Professionals president emeritus Hollie Stoops for her work in organizing the Dearborn County Maverick Challenge for her third year.
AIM Young Professionals of Dearborn County plans to administer the Maverick Challenge in Dearborn County again during the 2015-2016 school year. High school students going to school or living in Dearborn County are eligible to participate. Registration will begin in the fall with announcements taking place in schools and at www.aimyp.com.
More information on the Maverick Challenge is available online at www.maverickchallenge.com.
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