50 AUGUST 2018 By Michelle Donati-Grayman Five years ago, Julie Kang was a new mom to a 6-month-old daughter. It was summertime in Phoenix, which means hot cars and even hotter car seats. Kang was concerned about her infant daughter’s comfort and safety. “I didn’t want to put my daughter in a hot car seat,” Kang said. “ T h e r e wa s n’t anything at the store, and the one product I found online only stayed cold for about 10 minutes.” She started carrying gel ice packs in the car when she ran errands and invested in a sewing machine to create a cover for the packs. But she didn’t stop there. Kang started experimenting with different fabrics and layering techniques until she found a combination that allowed the ice packs to stay cold all day long. This is no easy feat in Arizona, where seat temperatures inside a vehicle can exceed 120 degrees after being parked in the sun for only an hour, according to researchers at Arizona State University and the University of California. With a background in sales, Kang realized that other parents might be interested in the cooling device she created. This led her to start Cool Carats LLC and place an initial order for 4,000 Cooltech Car Seat Coolers to be produced. “Thanks to word of mouth and social media, we sold out our first year,” Kang said. “And sales have continued to double every year since.” The coolers retail for $39.99. To use, parents fold and freeze them overnight for at least 12 hours. The coolers are placed on empty car seats once children exit the car, where they do their job of keeping the seat c o ol . B efo r e securing the child back in their car seat, the cooler is removed and stored until its next use. Kang sells the coolers on her website, CoolCarats.com, Amazon.com and at buybuy BABY. She has a goal of seeing her product on the shelves at other major retailers. She’s also in the development phase of creating a cooling product for adults and a new heating and cooling product for kids. “I’m a concerned mom who wants to help others,” Kang said. “And I want parents to get their money’s worth out of my product.” For more information, visit coolcarats.com. ‘Mompreneur’ helps parents beat the heat with car seat cooler ‘Mompreneur’ Julie Kang developed her popular Cooltech Car Seat Coolers after trying to craft a way to keep her daughter’s seat cool during Phoenix summers. Five years later, the product now sells 200-300 on Amazon.com every day. Does your child love Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math? At SySTEM Phoenix your child can get a free college-prep STEM education! Apply today! Back to School Night Monday, July 30 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Open to the public • Meet the new principal and staff • Sign up for after-school clubs • Choose elective classes • Register for free bus transportation • Tour the campus Does your child like to make things? Build things? Play with robots or drones? Apply to SySTEM Phoenix – the only exclusively STEM middle school in Phoenix that’s committed to academic excellence. We prepare our students for admission to top STEM High Schools and Colleges! • Small Classes • Advanced Curriculum • Diverse Student Body • Expert Teachers • Free After-school Programs • Free Laptops • Robotics, Coding, and Engineering Call for a tour 602.710.1873 Conveniently located near downtown at 13th St. and McDowell Road with 3 bus routes! www.systemschools.org SySTEM Phoenix School 1301 E. Almeria Road Phoenix, AZ 85006 heaven by tom stephenson acrylic on canvas 49” X 30” X 1.5” Representing students of Arizona universities, community colleges and high schools, as well as other emerging Arizona artists since 1993. )6( 7)' (+' $:%;<$==:>?;" "@ )-2(;@$:&$==B$> "%%$= CELEBRATING 24 YEARS!

51 AUGUST 2018 By Jennifer Marshall Public speaking is one of life’s greatest fears for many people. And yet, it’s one of the most important skills for success in life. At Phoenix Country Day School, administrators have made public speaking a top priority, which becomes clear when one looks at the results of the school’s multiple award-winning Speech and Debate Team. The team has come a long way since Ryan Joyce first took the reins as head coach seven years ago. Back then, enthusiasm and participation in the Speech and Debate Team was minimal. It only competed in a single event at the local level. Joyce, the school’s director of advancement, built a small contingent into a powerhouse, leading the middle school team to three consecutive national championships. “We started with a core group of five or six kids on our upper school team and it’s now grown to a little over 100 kids between middle and upper school,” Joyce said. “To have over 100 kids participating is a pretty big deal.” Students in grades six through 12 are eligible to audition for the team. Members of the Speech and Debate Team finely hone their research, writing, acting and debating abilities. In addition to improving their personal communication skills, joining the team strengthens their resume for college and beyond. Since public speaking is woven throughout the fabric of academic life at Phoenix Country Day School, being on the team also helps boost students’ daily classroom performance. While being on the team isn’t mandatory, all students are assigned a speech-related project each year. This requirement is often associated with a class such as history, English or science, or it could be a stand- alone project. “The team isn’t just an after-school club; it’s very much a part of our program,” Joyce said. “Public speaking and speech really align with our school curriculum.” Throughout the school season, the team participates in tournaments against thousands of students from all over the country. When not involved in a local competition, the team can be found flying off to tournaments held at prestigious universities including Harvard, Stanford and Columbia. It competes in about 25 tournaments on its way to the National Tournament, which draws around 10,000 students from across the country, all vying to become the top team in the nation. Tournament challenges consist of acting events, writing events, extemporaneous speaking and debate events. At the National Tournament this year, the upper school team ranked in the top 50, and the middle school team retained the honor of number one team in the United States. Six students took home the title of National Champion. During the school year, the team practices every day including weekends. On summer break, the kids attend intensive, dedicated speech and debate camps. These committed students work hard for every honor they receive and it shows. For the past two years, the middle school team was the only one in the country asked to participate in the high school tournaments at both Stanford and Columbia, where several students won. The students’ loyalty and dedication to the team is rewarded with strong support from the school. Phoenix Country Day School covers the majority of the team’s travel expenses, leaving the parents with a minimal financial burden. “We’re so fortunate to be at a school that really supports this,” Joyce said. “More than any other school I’ve worked at, Phoenix Country Day School really sees it as a vital part of what we do at our school.” 3 consecutive national championships for PCDS Siena Liljegren, Yash Wadwekar, Wade Hunter, Abby Caplan, McKinley Paltzik, celebrate their win with Ryan Joyce. Scottsdale Waterfront 480.751.2200 OliveIvyRM A Swig of the Best Life happy hour mon-fri 3-6pm