St. Clair College's Enactus team took top honours in the Canadian Tire Environmental Sustainability Challenge at the 2024-2025 Central Canada Regional Expositions in Mississauga, Ont. on March 5, 2025.
Enactus is an annual competition which brings together students, academic and industry leaders to ignite the potential of Canada's future leaders to drive positive social, environmental, and economic impact by empowering their entrepreneurial mindset.
During the event, students displayed how their community outreach projects and business ventures are making a real impact in Canada and beyond. Through rounds of live, presentation-based competitions, business leaders serving as judges determined which Enactus teams and student entrepreneurs were named regional champions.
St. Clair College participated in two challenges: The Innovation and Impact Challenge as well as the Canadian Tire Environmental Sustainability Challenge, winning the latter contest by topping out Toronto Metropolitan University and Queen's University.
Owen Carrier, a third-year Robotics student from St. Clair College created the winning project, titled: "Red Roan." The project focused on the integration of red algae in cow feed to reduce methane emissions from their waste by approximately 82 per cent.
The presentation team consisted of Carrier, along with fellow students Albert McCallum, Jessica Popescu, and Evan Holmes.
"Enactus is a place where students with innovative ideas can have a great, positive impact in our world. Enactus gives the platform and resources to really try to make that dream a reality," said Carrier. "These events are places where all students across the province, country, or even the world come together to compete with these projects to see who's made the most impact."
Carrier said the competition is akin to "the Olympics for doing good in this world," noting it also helped enhance his soft skills.
"Enactus has helped me grow my leadership skills significantly. I've also learned new topics in areas that I've never thought were applicable to my robotics background, but it surely was," Carrier said. "I'm sure that Enactus will be a large contributor to my long-term success."
A team of students from St. Clair also competed in the Innovation and Impact Challenge with the "Stride" project, created by Criscele Andes and Vicente Gutierrez, second-year Business Marketing students.
The project highlighted ways to combat nerve damage causing numbness in feet, a common symptom of diabetes. The team created a shoe insole with heating and cooling dual technology to keep the user's feet within a comfortable temperature in more extreme weather conditions.
The presentation team featured both Andes and Gutierrez, along with Sam Panagar, Rovelyn Mayordo, and Aurun Bhattarai.
"Being part of Enactus has been an amazing experience. As a marketing student, it opened my eyes to how entrepreneurs think about business," said Andes. "This has helped me become more aware of the path I want to take in the future."
"The projects we've worked on not only taught me to view things from an entrepreneur's perspective but also helped me develop skills in teamwork and leadership, as well as the ability to make a positive impact on society," Andes added.
Teammate Vincente Gutierrez said the collaboration and real-world applications of what they studied during their time at St. Clair were invaluable, enhancing teamwork, strategic thinking, and project execution skills.
"Competing at the Enactus regionals was an incredible learning experience. It allowed me to collaborate with students and professionals, enhancing my understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation," said Gutierrez. "This experience has not only strengthened my passion for making a positive impact but also shaped how I approach my future career path."
The teams were supported by presentation team coach Teodora Milovanovic, Enactus president Abrar Siddiqui, VP of tech Crystal Bryan, tech assistant Catriona Lenover, photographer Swapnil Oturkar, and social media director Joyce Veres.
Faculty advisor Michael Spadotto said these are experiences that will stick with students as they enter their working lives.
"Through months of collaboration and hands-on problem-solving, our Enactus students transform ideas into impactful prototypes that drive sustainable change," Spadotto said. "Each project is a testament to the power of teamwork, where every member's unique skills contribute to real-world solutions that directly benefit communities."
The team behind the Red Roan project will now move onto the final rounds of competition held at the Enactus Canada National Exposition from May 6-8 in Calgary, AB. (National Exposition - Enactus Canada)
