On Tuesday, June 2nd 2026, we were back with the annual FATE Student Showcase! This year, our 9th graders developed marketing and advertising campaigns to build awareness and engagement 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 9: Marketing & Advertising Campaign for Merit Park
Just a few months ago, our 9th graders were put into five teams to work on their Grade 9 Capstone Project: Creating a Marketing and Advertising Campaign for Merit Park. Each team was responsible for creating a 60-second reel and a billboard advertisement.
Let’s meet this year’s Grade 9 Project Teams:
Team Bumblebeez
Team Members: Mackynzie, Aaliyah, Chase, and Casey
Theme: “Level Up at Merit Park”
What They Learned: “We learned that you have to work for what you want, that everyone’s voice is important and communication is important in group projects because we can make a bigger impact as a team.”
The Redeem Team
Team Members: Landon, Malyha, Madison, Laniya, and Stephon* (*Not pictured)
Theme: “Try Something New"
What They Learned: "This project isn't just about giving youth a safe place to go; it is also an investment that will increase local property values. Moving forward, we are excited to apply the new marketing and promotional skills we've learned, and we are stepping up to deliver this presentation with total confidence."
Red Velvet
Team Members: Raphael, Kalia, and Trinity
Theme: “Confidence, Determination, Success”
What They Learned: “We learned how to keep going even through the highs and lows and how to communicate as a team.”
The Rising Stars
Team Members: Tashilya, Darrion, Sa’Niyrah, Zavion, and Meya
Theme: “Experience New Beginnings”
What They Learned: “We learned a lot of things through this project. Our theme for the year is “It Takes 10 Hands to Get a Bucket”, and we got to experience that together and learn about teamwork, building off of each other’s ideas, and putting our ideas together. We also learned about marketing and advertising, and how to be confident and comfortable in unfamiliar environments (like presenting here at the Showcase). Finally, we also learned a lot about Merit Park! Merit Park will offer many different types of activities for both teens and adults, and be a safe space for kids to get out of the house, so we’re so excited for it to open and would like to have both your family and friends come down and join Merit Park!”
Team 6 GOATs
Team Members: De’Mari, Peyton, London, Michael, Jason, and Jeremiah
Theme: “Dream Big at Merit Park”
What They Learned: “Merit Park can help you with your future and learn what you want to do. From this project, we learned to work together and believe in ourselves, that it takes everybody to make a plan, and that even the youth can make a difference."
ABOUT THE GRADE 9 CAPSTONE PROJECT
Creative Concepting
To begin developing a marketing and advertising campaign, each team needed to go through the “creative concepting” phase. With professional support from a variety of industry leaders within our Creative Team, students applied what they learned about Merit Park’s brand and mission to their brainstorming sessions.
Each team first thought of words that came to mind when thinking about Merit Park, which were then narrowed down into a few campaign theme ideas. For example, a phrase that really connected with Team Rising Stars during their brainstorm was “New Experiences” since Merit Park will be opening soon as a brand new facility and offering opportunities that youth may not have had access to before. They wanted to focus on how everyone is invited to Merit Park and will be able to find something meaningful for themselves there, eventually leading to their theme of “Experience New Beginnings”. With a campaign theme established, teams began to storyboard their reel, develop a script, and decide the locations, props, costumes, and cast for their reels and billboard ads.
The Creative Team
Before production begins, each team has to pitch their marketing and advertising campaign idea to our Creative Team that is made up of professionals who are tasked with bringing each team’s vision to life. This year’s creative team included:
Adam Luger, Videographer
Shelby Dubin, Photographer
Jeff Martin, Graphic Designer
Stephen Timblin, Copywriter
Jimmy Johnson, Photographer
Production
One of the most exciting days is each team’s film day! Each team had the opportunity to travel to Merit Park and a variety of other Detroit locations (like Straight Gate International Church, the Detroit Riverwalk, and the FATE Space on Cass Ave) to shoot their reel scenes and shoot their billboard ad photos. During filming, students have the chance to bring their reel to life! They were encouraged to watch the monitor as scenes were filmed, offer suggestions, and make real time edits based on their visions. Students from each team really showed out and made their filming experience special!
Since Merit Park is still under construction, the students also got creative with ways to still tell the stories they wanted. With the help of the Merit Park, FATE, and Creative Teams, students used virtual Merit Park tours, mockups, merch, and more to show audiences exactly what Merit Park was all about and get youth excited for it to open! The students didn’t let any obstacles faze them, and worked together to communicate their ideas and feedback to the professionals to make sure their projects were perfect.
Pitch Preparation
With their reels and billboard ads complete, each team is tasked with creating a pitch presentation that describes their project goals, creative process, campaign theme, why they picked their theme, target customer, details about their reel, details about their billboard, where they will advertise their campaign, and what was learned. These pitches were shared during our annual FATE Student Showcase event!
2026 STUDENT SHOWCASE - GRADE 9
On Tuesday, June 2nd 2026, we held our 8th annual FATE Student Showcase at Newlab Detroit! All five teams pitched their marketing and advertising campaigns for Merit Park and premiered their reels and billboards for the first time. In order to pick a winner, each team was evaluated by a panel of judges who are experts in the PR/Marketing field. Our expert panel of judges included:
DeJuan Woods: First Independence Bank, Director of Marketing and Community Relations
Temeca Simpson: Ballmer Group, Senior Portfolio Manager
Tanisha Streeter: Give Merit, VP of Merit Park
Don Dudley: Foot Locker, Director of Marketing and Community Relations
Kylah Kiel - FATE Class of 2022 Alumni
Jonathan Pulley: McGregor Foundation, Director of Grant Development
The judges were asked to score the overall presentation (criteria included: participation, content, innovation, planting feet, focusing on the audience, projecting voice, and finishing each sentence strong) as well as the reel and billboard (criteria included: quality and visual appeal, relevance and usability, and innovation).
We were so impressed with our 9th graders and their presentations this year! Each team blew us away with innovative ways to creatively share their work, connect with the audience, and support each other as teammates. Every group brought something new to the stage, like team chants, gifts for the judges, and even original songs! Staff, mentors, parents, families, and guests alike were unprepared for how engaging each presentation would be!
Taking the stage can be nerve wracking, there’s no doubt about it. Even if some students might have been afraid, they pushed through and were nearly unrecognizable on stage, handling themselves and supporting their teammates with pride. From first learning about Merit Park and creating their themes all the way back in February, to filming their reels and building their presentations just weeks ago, we are unbelievably proud of the Class of 2029 and the work each and every one of them put into their 9th grade capstone projects!
Check out their incredible campaigns below:
REELS & BILLBOARDS
Team Bumblebeez - “Level Up at Merit Park”
Reel
Billboard Ad
Redeem Team - "Try Something New"
Reel
Billboard Ad
Red Velvet - “Confidence, Determination, Success”
Reel
Billboard Ad
Rising Stars - “Experience New Beginnings”
Reel
Billboard Ad
6 GOATs - “Dream Big at Merit Park”
Reel
Billboard Ad
Videographer: Adam Luger | Graphic Designer: Jeff Martin
Photographers: Shelby Dubin + Jimmy Johnson
The Winning Team!!!
Once the judges were done deliberating, the scores were calculated and the winning 9th grade team was chosen! Additionally, we asked the audience to help us determine a “People’s Choice Award” for who they thought had the best presentation and campaign!
This year both the “People’s Choice” and Official Winner were the SAME TEAM! Who was crowned the ONE WINNER of the Grade 9 Capstone, securing a $200 cash prize and Merit utilizing their campaign??? The WINNER OF THE 2026 STUDENT SHOWCASE COMPETITION was…
THE RISING STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Rising Stars took home the big win with their “Experience New Beginnings” campaign and incredibly professional, creative, and compelling presentation skills! We are so incredibly proud of all five teams and the hard work they put into these campaigns the past few months. We are always awed by their creativity, perseverance, humor, leadership, and teamwork! We hope you enjoyed them and their campaigns as much as we did!
We want to give a special thanks to our Creative Team who helped bring these visions to life:
Adam Luger, Videographer
Shelby Dubin, Photographer
Jeff Martin, Graphic Designer
Stephen Timblin, Copywriter
Jimmy Johnson, Photographer
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