Ben Hider

Kristen McCellan and her competitors pose with actor Nick Cannon, right.

Kristen McClellan '12 is a finalist in a national young entrepreneurs' competition sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange and mtvU, an MTV Networks program available on more than 800 college campuses in the United States.

The ILR School student and her SnappyScreen airbrush sunscreen application system will appear on the "Movers & Changers" show Wednesday, Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and 15, when the winner will be announced. The November episode introducing McClellan and three other students competing for the $25,000 grand prize can be seen at http://www.moversandchangers.com/.

"This has been the experience of a lifetime," McClellan said. "Having the opportunity to present SnappyScreen to this prestigious panel of judges has helped prepare me for all future pitches."

ILR faculty member Dan Cohen, entrepreneur in residence at Cornell's eLab, a business accelerator where McClellan has been perfecting her concept for three years, said the ILR junior "has that laser focus I've noticed in most successful entrepreneurs. She has the mentality of making progress, regardless of challenges or pitfalls."

The SnappyScreen concept has vast growth potential, Cohen said. "Kristen anticipates focusing on the hotel resort market; however, other markets such as day care centers, schools and water parks beckon."

SnappyScreen, designed to eliminate blotchy, uneven tans and prevent skin damage, is freestanding and weatherproof. Nozzles travel vertically while spraying sunscreen on the user, who turns for full coverage. The boxy SnappyScreen prototype is stored in a Lansing warehouse.

Describing SnappyScreen as "an easy and effective alternative to tedious manual application of sunscreen," McClellan said a percentage of profits from each consumer use will be donated to the Melanoma Research Foundation.

Finalists in the competition were filmed in November in New York City. They rang the stock exchange bell, attended the exchange's Movers and Changers Forum and presented business plans to contest judges, all entrepreneurs.

McClellan's competitors for the $25,000 prize are a student from George Washington University and a team of two students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mary Catt is the ILR School's staff writer.