On Tuesday, June 2nd 2026, we were back with the annual FATE Student Showcase! This year, our 9th graders developed marketing and advertising campaigns for Merit Park and our 10th graders designed a Merit Park product collection!
INTRODUCTION
Each year our 9th and 10th grade FATE cohorts participate in an end-of-year capstone project where they put their skills in business, entrepreneurship, marketing, and design-thinking to practice! This year, the students were entrusted with designing for Merit Park, a life skills and development facility opening in the 48204 zip code. Merit Park was built for and with the community as a place where young people will feel seen, supported, and empowered, so the students were tasked with keeping Merit Park’s mission in mind as they worked on their capstones.
Five 9th grade teams were asked to create a Marketing and Advertising Campaign for Merit Park which included a 60-second reel, a billboard, and a pitch presentation. A panel of expert judges in the PR and marketing field was tasked with declaring the winner - securing them a $200 cash prize and the use of their campaign for Merit Park’s promotions! Our 10th graders were split into four teams to develop a Merit Park Product Collection, the very first public pieces of Merit Park merchandise! These collections were on display trade show booth style and available for presale at the Student Showcase and virtually for the two weeks following. The team with the most pre-sales was declared the winner, awarding them a $300 cash prize and the production and sale of their full collection by Merit (our cause-based fashion brand) and Merit Park!
Grade 10: Design a Merit Park Product Collection
In February, our sophomores began their Grade 10 Capstone Project: Designing a Merit Park Product Collection.
After splitting into 4 project teams, and working to understand their task of developing a collection for Merit Park to be put on display at the annual Student Showcase, our 10th Graders all spent the last few months creating unique aesthetics and visual identities with their teams to bring their perfect product collections to life.
Let’s meet our Grade 10 Project Teams:
Dreams of Fire
Team Members: Kayla, Aisha, Ariyah, Myles, and Jacob
Collection Theme: “Unity in the Community”
Graphic Designer: Karl Nilsson
About the Collection: “Unity in the Community is about coming together as one - building real connections, creating meaningful bonds, and finding a sense of belonging. It’s family. It’s friendship. It’s pride in who you are and pride in the people around you. At Merit Park, unity means growing stronger together.”
Pink Panthers
Team Members: Matthew, Raven, Erik, Kaleigh, Simya, and Mekhia* (*Not pictured)
Collection Theme: “Minds, Body, In Motion”
Graphic Designer: Scott Everett
About the Collection: “Our “Minds, Body, in Motion” collection symbolizes Merit Park’s mission to move Detroit mentally, physically, and spiritually. Even when life has you down, our collection reminds you that you can always move forward and that you’re part of a community (a movement) that has your back.”
The Eternals
Team Members: Zay’veon, Jonathyn, Tané, and Jayden
Collection Theme: “Challenges Build (You)th”
Graphic Designer: Jon Brooks
About the Collection: “Challenges Build (You)th is something we carry with us. It shows how we grow and who we become. We believe challenges don’t hold you back, they shape you. They build your strength, your confidence, and your mindset. Every challenge is personal, and every struggle is building you into something stronger.”
The Greats
Team Members: Nicole, Angelica, Maalik, Jeremiah, and Tyron
Collection Theme: “Your Own Moment”
Graphic Designer: Kirah Price
About the Collection: “In a world that never stops moving, where attention is constantly pulled outward and trends change in an instant. Your Own Moment is a quiet act of rebellion. It is a reminder that you don’t have to chase the noise to be seen. You don’t have to wait for permission to step into your power. This collection is built for those who choose presence over pressure. For those who understand that the real moment isn’t something you wait for, it’s something you claim. It’s about having the courage to take the shot when it matters most, and the confidence to stand fully in who you are without hesitation. Your Own Moment shifts the focus inward. Every piece is intentional, unfiltered, and grounded in authenticity. We want you to feel empowered. We want you to feel calm. Most importantly, we want you to feel seen. Because while the world is busy looking elsewhere, you still have the right to grow, to evolve, and to fully invest in yourself. This is your reminder: You don’t have to chase the moment, you can be in your own moment.”
ABOUT THE GRADE 10 CAPSTONE PROJECT
Learning about Merit Park
While many of our sophomores already knew about Merit Park, their teams needed to become Merit Park experts so they could best build their collections. The students started off their projects with a day dedicated to touring and learning about Merit Park! Once they broke into their teams, they explored the different features of the facility, interviewed David Merritt and Tanisha Streeter who have been heading the project, and took a trip to the Merit Park construction site to see it for themselves!
Developing a Theme, Design Concepts & Creative Brief
To begin creating a product collection, each team needed to pick a theme that would guide the designs in their collection. It was important that each theme not only had a name, but a clear connection to the Merit Park brand and its target customers that each member of the team would be able to describe.
To assist in this process, we partnered with Carhartt where our students spent the day in their design center working directly with their creative team! Students learned about designing for a consumer, took a tour of the Carhartt building, and spent time fleshing out their collection themes.
With a collection theme chosen, each team developed 5 design concept ideas and worked on a “creative brief” that outlined the aesthetic, design elements, colors, and inspiration images that helped guide their design process. For example, team Pink Panthers identified the theme “Minds, Body, In Motion” to encourage customers to use Merit Park to find ways to move forward mentally, physically, and with their communities. When they thought about how this theme could be communicated visually, they centered on objects and design elements that show “movement” or “motion”, and settled on ideas like exercising, music, and traffic signs. They paired those ideas with phrases like “Join the Movement”, which invite the wearer to join in Merit Park’s encouragement of the Detroit community to move, grow, and support one another.
Product Designs
Each team was assigned a graphic designer - Scott Everett, Jon Brooks, Karl Nilsson, or Kirah Price- who worked closely with their team to understand their collection theme and brought each team’s vision to life. In addition to creating the 5 design concepts, each team got to decide which product they wanted in their collection, the color of both product and the graphics, and the design placement.
Creating a Trade Show Booth Display
We produce a sample collection for each team which is on display during the annual Student Showcase event and available for pre-sale. To create these trade show booth displays, we partner with Creative Solutions Group (CSG) - a full service experiential marketing company. During the excursion workshop with CSG, students get a chance to design their own trade show booth poster with the support of our graphic designers. Special shout out to Kori, Dan, Tom, and the amazing CSG team for your support!
Collection Sales Pitch
Right before the Student Showcase, our students practice a collection sales pitch to familiarize themselves with their product collection theme, collection story and design concept details so they are prepared to attract customers and make the sale! Before this process starts, we partnered with Chick-Fil-A for a workshop centered on customer service where students learn about identifying who their customers are, how to give great service, why it’s so important, and how to handle complaints.
2025 STUDENT SHOWCASE - GRADE 10
During the 2026 Student Showcase, the Grade 10 teams had their product collections on display for pre-sale as they interacted with a variety of customers! The goal was to not only showcase their creativity and hard work - but to get the most pre-sales. As each team competed against one another, they had to focus on grabbing the customers attention by describing what makes their product unique and the message behind their designs.
It’s always so exciting to see the sophomores take charge of selling their collections, and this year’s class certainly did not disappoint! Even before the event had officially started, the students welcomed guests as they arrived and invited them over to their displays to lead them through their collection story. They used every opportunity to share about their designs, their experiences as a team, and their excitement for Merit Park. Students found unique ways to make their pitches more relatable, like sharing about their favorite piece, inquiring about what styles/colors the customer usually prefers, and recommending pieces based on what activities the customer might do at Merit Park once it opens. We are so proud of the Class of 2028, the hard work and dedication they put into designing their product collections, and the creativity, positivity, and persistence they showed while pitching to customers at the Student Showcase!
At the end of the Student Showcase, the Merit Team revealed that there had been 3 Secret Shoppers in the audience! Unbeknownst to the sophomores and the audience, there had been a bonus prize up for grabs for the team that showed the best customer services skills throughout the event. Our 3 Secret Shoppers were individuals experienced with customer service and/or deeply familiar with the 10th Grade Capstone project: Angela Wisniewski-Cobbina (Owner/Founder of Shop Coup D’état), Erica Jackson (Consultant for Hospitality/Events), and Sheree Patton (FATE Alumni Class of 2022, graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree Fashion Design & Merchandising).
Our Secret Shoppers were tasked with interacting with the different teams and evaluating their customer service skills (while making note of some other criteria like merchandising, visuals, products, and any x factors), and came together to compare experiences and pick their winner. Unbeknownst to all of us at the time, the Secret Shopper Winner would be the SAME as the winning team of the overall pre-sale competition!
Following the Student Showcase, all of the Grade 10 Product Collections were available for pre-sale until June 15th, 2026. While there were 4 incredible collections, only ONE team was selected as the winner based on having the most presales from June 2nd - June 15th. In addition to a $300 cash prize, the winning team’s collection will be produced in FULL and sold on Merit’s website. What’s so exciting about the Grade 10 Capstone Project is that the winning team has been chosen by YOU, our Merit customers!
Who was Crowned the Winner???
The people have spoken!
The 2026 Secret Shopper Winning Team AND our official WINNER OF THE 2026 STUDENT SHOWCASE COMPETITION is…
Team Dreams of Fire with their "Unity in the Community” collection!!!!!!!!!!
Their top selling product was their “Neighborhood Pride” Tee! You can shop the entire “Unity in the Community” collection here:
“We Are Always Stronger Together” Hoodie
“Detroit Together, Detroit Forever” Long Sleeve Tee
We are so incredibly proud of all four teams and the hard work they put into these product collections the past few months. In addition to the winning collection being produced in full and sold on Merit’s website, we have selected the top 5 selling products from the other collections that will be available as well.
Our top 5 products this year included:
The Greats: Your Own Moment
Pink Panthers: Minds, Body, In Motion
The Eternals: Challenges Build (You)th
We want to give a special thank you to this year’s incredibly talented graphic designers:
Scott Everett, Jon Brooks, Karl Nilsson, and Kirah Price
As well as our Grade 10 Capstone Project partners which include:
As well as a special thank you to our event sponsors:
First Independence Bank (Main Sponsor)
Z Real Estate (Special thank you to Renee Jadan)
Chevelle Roman (Merit Board Member)
And of course our FATE Mentors & the Give Merit Board, our panel of judges, and all of our incredible volunteers for the day!
Photography: Shelby Dubin