Through Employer Provided Innovation Challenges, or EPIC, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation helps connect high school and postsecondary learners with employers to solve real business challenges. The model is designed to create value on both sides: students gain meaningful career exposure, and employers benefit from fresh ideas, new perspectives, and solutions they can put to work.
This year, six student teams traveled to Washington, D.C., to present their solutions at the U.S. Chamber Foundation headquarters. But the event also underscored a broader point: EPIC is not only about showcasing student potential—it is about proving what happens when work-based learning is designed around employer needs and student voice.
Solving Real Challenges, Together
Students from the Elkhart County Work-Based Learning Hub, connected by EPIC partner Braided Futures, worked with Beacon Health System to address barriers that can keep patients in the hospital after their care is complete. The team identified delays tied to insurance approvals, equipment, transportation, and medication, then proposed using AI tools to help submit requests earlier in the discharge process. For Beacon Health System, the project helped create an actionable solution that could inform future work.
At San Clemente High School, students took on a different kind of challenge: helping the South Coast Water District explain desalination to the broader community. Their proposal centered on an interactive discovery center that would help residents better understand how removing salt and minerals from seawater can create freshwater for local communities.
The projects showed the role that chambers, employers, and education partners can play in bringing work-based learning to life. As Jane Little of the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce shared, “When chambers can convene, when employer partners can provide these real challenges, when education partners can provide access...the students will rise.”
Left to right: Martine Thompson-Nosty, Kennedi Elswick, Tayah McAfee, Rachel Deak, and Mikayla Troyer, showcasing their innovative solution to hopsital discharge bottlenecks.
Left to right: Isabella Frangopol, Parker Phillips, Kaia Manco-Shaw, Polina Pelipenko, and Thomas Marnella, presenting their desalination education solution.
Left to right: Aarushi Dhawan, Uddip Kashyap, Ethan Hedge, Adithi Challa, and Medhya Sivaganesh from FCS Innovation Academy displaying their simulated bioreactor.
Logan Bender (left) and Cash Williams (right) from Adrian College outlining their hiring and onboarding solutions for Crossfire Group.
Bruno Acosta explains his data retrieval AI tool for Canela Media.
Left to right: East Stroudsburg University students Isaia Robinson, Jonathan Duffy, Anthony Rodriguez, Tyler Akob and Anthony Quadrino (not pictured) presenting their financial education simulation.
Students from FCS Innovation Academy partnered with Manus, a bioalternatives and manufacturing company, to explore the high costs and inefficiencies of automated biomanufacturing. Students from East Stroudsburg University returned to EPIC for a second year, this time partnering with Members 1st Federal Credit Union to strengthen financial literacy in Pennsylvania. At Adrian College, students worked with Crossfire Group, a Michigan job recruiter, on attracting and retaining Gen Z talent, developing a social media strategy to support recruitment and an onboarding toolkit to strengthen retention.
One of the clearest examples of business value came through EPIC partner Miami Tech Works. They helped Canela Media partner with Miami Dade College student Bruno Acosta to address manual, time-consuming data searches. Using AI automation, Bruno developed a bilingual model to search, interpret, and retrieve information from large Excel datasets. After implementation, Canela Media reduced data search time from 15 hours per week to 30 minutes.
The Business Case for Student Innovation
Across industries, employers and partners at the event shared their experiences with how these students helped improve processes and test new ideas. Discussions also focused on the growing importance of durable skills in a rapidly changing economy. As technology continues to reshape the workplace, employers increasingly value critical thinking, adaptability, collaboration, and problem-solving. EPIC helps students develop those skills by applying them directly in work settings, building their confidence and career readiness.
Jaimie Francis, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Veronica Monge, Canela Media; Ryan Riley, Members 1st Federal Credit Union; Andrew Stinson, CrossFire Group; Heather Wagner, Beacon Health System; and Andreea Trufasu, PoolRx;
Amanda Winters, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Dan Gonzalez, General Manager, Teamship, The College Board; Kate Parsons, Chief Strategy Officers, CAPS Network; Liz Texeira, Vice President, Social Impact, Britebound; and Mara Woody, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Riipen;
Left to right: Ryan Riley, Members 1st Federal Credit Union; Andrew Stinson, CrossFire Group; and Heather Wagner, Beacon Health System.
From left to right: Jaimie Francis, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Veronica Monge, Canela Media; and Ryan Riley, Members 1st Federal Credit Union
Perhaps most importantly, the convening highlighted that work-based learning is more than an educational experience—it creates tangible value for employers. And for the students, it offers something equally valuable: the chance to see that their ideas can contribute to solving problems that matter.
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About the author
Chris Briggs
Chris Briggs is a communications intern at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
