Three Massachusetts students advance to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

Bold ideas from three local students are among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Three students from Massachusetts have been selected as semifinalists in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

The Massachusetts semifinalists and their ideas are:

Planet Pal Lunch Kits — Shinjinee Khan (2nd Grade, Flaherty Elementary School, social pitch): Personalized reusable lunch sets that replace single-use plastics with engraved water bottles and utensils, helping reduce waste and protect the environment.

ReHappy — Siddharth Vikram (7th Grade, Carlisle Middle School, business pitch): An AI- and augmented reality-powered rehabilitation app that turns physical, cognitive and sensory therapy into engaging games while tracking patient progress for therapists and doctors.

Civix — Amirtha Chennakesavan (11th Grade, Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, business pitch): A gamified learning app that teaches students about government, voting and current events through interactive lessons, challenges and rewards designed to increase civic engagement.

As semifinalists, each project will be awarded $5,000. The students will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
peters@collaborativecommunications.com

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SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation