THREE students from Ardenne High School have been selected to represent Jamaica at the annual Junior Achievement Americas Company of the Year Entrepreneurship Competition to be held in Cancun, Mexico, between December 9 and 12.

The three are Dawin Morna, Nicholas Kee and Hughian Bernard. This is the third year that students from Ardenne will represent Jamaica in the competition.

The trio, during the academic year 2012/2013, along with their teacher Orrette Muir, created a Junior Achievement Student Company called ‘Plastato’, that scientifically produces jewellery from potatoes.

It is this project that they have further developed and will present in Mexico.

“We came up with ‘Plastato’ as our products were made from potatoes. We really wanted to be innovative and create something that was practical and something that people would love,” Kee said.

Ardenne was selected to represent Jamaica from a pool of 40 schools islandwide which submitted business plans then launched businesses under the Junior Achievement Programme during the academic year.

JN Fund Managers will pay for the students to travel to Mexico, where they will compete against all other Junior Achievement entrepreneurs in the Americas.

“We have seen videos, and the students and Ardenne were doing amazing things,” Annette Clayton-Baker, vice-president, marketing and public relations at JN Fund Managers said.

“They pooled the best ideas from their art, science and technology students to create a product that could be sold easily. It (the product) was aesthetically pleasing and friendly to the environment. We are very happy to have Ardenne back with us and among the schools we are mentoring in the 2013/2014 Junior Achievement Programme.”

The group from Ardenne High will be accompanied by Alphie Mullings-Aiken, president of JACE Jamaica.

Under the JACE programme, students in secondary schools across the island are required to create a business, establish it within their schools, and create profits for themselves. At the end of each academic year, Junior Achievement Jamaica selects the school with the most sustainable, innovative and unique project to represent Jamaica in the Junior Achievement Americas Company of the Year Competition.