Honors

I competed in the Business Professionals of America (BPA) Startup Enterprise competition, where my team placed 6th out of 75 teams. The competition consisted of two rounds. In the first round, teams submitted a comprehensive business proposal outlining the product, operations plan, financial projections, and organizational structure. In the final round, teams pitched their business idea to a panel of judges.

After deciding to compete, my three teammates and I met weekly to brainstorm and develop our business proposal. We wanted to address the high levels of stress caused by demanding academic workloads and busy schedules. As I researched mental health, I learned that South Korea has the highest suicide rate among OECD member countries, with more than 24 deaths per 100,000 people. At the same time, I noticed that many of my friends found comfort in listening to their favorite K-pop artists during stressful periods. This inspired us to explore how technology could make emotional support more accessible.

Working with my teammates, I helped develop an AI-powered stress-relief calling service that used K-pop celebrity’ voices to provide emotional support. I contributed to designing the product's core features, conducting market research, developing marketing strategies, identifying partnership opportunities, and creating financial analysis for our business proposal.

After advancing to the second round I practiced pitching for more than one hour each day for two weeks for the final presentation. Through effective teamwork and preparation, our team successfully placed 6th out of 75 teams.

The following year, I placed 7th in the same competition. Collaborating with two teammates, I helped develop a VR-based parenting education program designed to reduce parental stress. Because the project targeted South Korean parents, I began by researching the challenges they commonly face and the factors that contribute to parenting stress. Using these findings, I helped design the program's core features and develop its business strategy. Through our research and presentation, our team advanced to the final round and placed 7th in the competition.

Through this experience, I learned the importance of designing technology around users' real needs. I realized that understanding people's challenges before developing solutions is the key.