By Sara Wiercinski
On November 7, IDEA Space KC in Leawood hosted the MECA Challenge, bringing together 107 students from around the metropolitan area to showcase their entrepreneurial talents.
Among the 16 teams, students from Ruskin High School’s Career Education Consortium took top honors: Brianne Guerra Menjivar, Jonathan Rocha Diosdado, Danielle Williams, Jalil Hardy, and Breanna Noah, with guidance from their teacher Diana Disher.
MECA refers to “Most Entrepreneurial Community in America”– a vision for Kansas City from event organizer Startland Education. The local nonprofit works with educators to facilitate design-based learning to enrich students’ skill sets and better prepare them to succeed in increasingly global and technical workforces and communities. The unique approach is built on teamwork over competition, respect for new approaches and awareness of different perspectives. Likewise students practice high-level conceptual thinking, planning and presentation skills, all building blocks for career and personal success.
This year’s event challenged teams to answer the question: “How might we create lasting solutions that enhance the quality of life for our generation and future generations?”
In addition to the recognition, the winning students received gift cards from event sponsor The DeBruce Foundation.
The Barstow School owns and operates The Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space KC, which opened at 12200 State Line Rd in Leawood in September 2022 (site of the former Hy-Vee grocery store). The state-of-the-art facility features a maker space, coding lab and entrepreneurial hub simulations that provide STEAM-rich problem solving experiences for children. (The STEAM acronym stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.)
Career Education Consortium, or CEC, is collaboration between local school districts, employers, universities and local government to promote high-quality learning opportunities that prepare students for the workforce.
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