Nearly 3 years since joining University School’s Anderson Scholar entrepreneurial program, junior Akash Salgia recently created and designed his own smartphone application. “Safe4Play is an iPad app that is used to identify the signs and symptoms of a concussions within minutes of a head injury.” Akash explained.
Using the front facing camera of an iPad, Akash’s app tracks the movement of an athletes’ eyes and puts them through a series of simple clinical exercises to determine the severity of an athletes concussion,or if they even have a concussion at all. With his app idea, Akash entered the US Tech Cup Competition and won first place. Impressively, after submitting a 20-page business proposal, Akash won a scholarship to Cleveland State University.
Success in the Anderson Scholar Program did not come easy to Akash. He had to take many steps in order to become as accomplished as he is now. To help improve his entrepreneurial skills, Akash takes Mr. Malkin’s Microeconomic class, which teaches him the, “in’s and out’s on specifics on how to run a business and how to create a proper business plan.”
Akash, after three years in the program, plans to “pursue a path in both entrepreneurship and medicine.” When talking about what the Anderson Scholar Program offers to the US student, Akash explains: “The Anderson Scholar Program is a unique opportunity for US freshmen.” Akash said: “It enables students to discover and pursue passions in either entrepreneurship or science.” Through his experiences within the program, Akash’s entrepreneurial interest has soared, and he is glad he has had the opportunity to be able to make and develop an idea from scratch. “Although I wouldn’t do anything differently a second time around, the hardest step for me during the process was coming up with an idea that practically solved a real-world problem along with a low cost.”
Akash has spent countless hours studying for his entrepreneurship classes, writing business plans, and designing and managing his application. For him, it’s safe to say that the work has paid off.
