With just 60 minutes on the clock, three Carl Sandburg High School students huddled around a table, tossing out ideas, narrowing their focus and building a marketing plan from scratch.
By the end of the hour, that plan and the teamwork behind it earned them first place at the 2026 Business Skills Competition hosted by Moraine Valley Community College and Moraine Area Career Systems.
The challenge was straightforward on paper but demanding in practice. Teams had to create a full marketing strategy for a solar-powered battery product, then present it twice to judges in back-to-back sessions. Five schools competed, all working against the same tight deadline.
Sandburg’s team, junior Jane Chan, junior Nidhi Patel and sophomore Kamile Juzenas, leaned into the pressure. Their concept, a portable solar battery called “Sola!,” came together quickly, anchored by the slogan “Charge on the Go.”
Rather than cast a wide net, the group focused on specific audiences such as outdoor enthusiasts, Gen Z consumers and people with active lifestyles. Runners, they reasoned, would connect with a lightweight, portable charger designed to keep up with them.
Chan said the experience forced the team to trust each other’s instincts and make decisions quickly.
“I learned how to work more efficiently under a time crunch, especially with two other people,” she said. “It was great to bounce ideas off one another and decide what really mattered for our product.”
That collaboration helped the trio stand out in both rounds of presentations.
All three students are involved in business-focused activities at Sandburg, including Business Professionals of America and SkillsUSA. Chan and Patel are also members of DECA.
Next, the students will take their experience to the national level, competing through BPA, DECA or SkillsUSA with the momentum of their recent win.