By Marykate Torley ’11

Crista Quiles ’14 from Yonkers, N.Y., is one of 25 finalists competing in the national Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE) Elevator Pitch Challenge 2010, presented by E*TRADE Bank, which gives college and high school students the opportunity to take a 30-second idea and turn it into an actual business.

To vote for one of our own Arcadians, go to elevatorpitch2010.com/share-today. By casting your vote, you are encouraging the innovative young minds of the next generation to pursue their dreams and strive to create their own place in the world.  Help Crista Quiles today!

Each nominee is either the owner or co-owner of the business, and the challenge is called an “elevator pitch” because it must be a carefully crafted message that is given in the time it takes to ride an elevator.

Quiles, who is in the Honors Program here at Arcadia, has created Silly Bones, a bilingual Spanish-English children’s book with an accompanying CD that teaches correct pronunciation. If she wins the challenge, Quiles plans to roll out a series of books, which will feature a trademarked character. Quiles did all the work and entered the competition as a high school senior.

Voting in the Elevator Pitch Challenge runs until midnight on Oct. 3. After that, the votes will be counted, and the winner will be announced at an event in New York, the OppenheimerFunds/ NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, on Oct. 5.