Brownstown Central High School senior Kassidy Wischmeier was among the 10 regional finalists from Region 6 in southeast Indiana for the STARTedUp Foundation’s STARTedUP Challenge. They presented April 21 at Maker13 in Jeffersonville.
Wischmeier presented on GreenPath Learning, which offers greenhouses, supplies and curriculum for schools. She also was the 2026 Maverick Challenge Jackson County winner with that business plan.
Formerly known as Innovate WithIN, the STARTedUP Challenge is the nation’s most elite high school pitch competition. Each year, thousands of students submit their big ideas. From these submissions, 70 teams — 10 from each of the seven competition regions — are selected to compete at the regional pitch competitions, where they present their ideas in front of judges and an audience.
At each regional event, one winning team secures its spot at the STARTedUP Challenge Finals and receives $1,000 per student (up to three team members). Additionally, three wildcard teams from throughout the state will be selected after the final regional pitch competition. In total, 10 teams will move on to compete for the $25,000 grand prize at Butler University on June 12.
For information, visit startedupfoundation.org/the-challenge.
