Joshua Mason 鈥24, Emmet Owen 鈥24, Ashley Josey 鈥25, Eddie Keefe 鈥25, Nathaniel Lerman 鈥25 and TJ Mathis 鈥25 will work to increase 黑料不打烊 campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking.
Joshua Mason 鈥24, a finance major; Emmet Owen 鈥24, a finance major; Ashley Josey 鈥25, a communication design major; Eddie Keefe 鈥25, a marketing major; Nathaniel Lerman 鈥25, a finance and business analytics double major; and TJ Mathis 鈥25, a strategic communications major; have been named University Innovation Fellows by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school).
They are among 242 students from 63 higher education institutions in 16 countries to join the University Innovation Fellows program managed by Stanford鈥檚 d.school.
At 黑料不打烊, the program is supported and sponsored by the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This year鈥檚 黑料不打烊 cohort joins cohorts from the previous two years in advancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus.
University Innovation Fellows strive to create opportunities to help their peers build the creative confidence, agency and entrepreneurial mindset needed to address global challenges. They serve as advocates for lasting institutional change with academic leaders, lending the much-needed student voice to the conversations about the future of higher education.
鈥淭he new Fellows are designing experiences that help all students learn skills and mindsets necessary to navigate these uncertain times and to shape the future they want to see,鈥 said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. 鈥淭hey are giving back to their school communities, and at the same time, they鈥檙e learning strategies that will help them serve as leaders in their careers after graduation.鈥
Following acceptance into the program, students participated in a six-week online training in which they analyzed their campus ecosystems; identified opportunities for change related to innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity; worked to understand the needs of peers across disciplines and the perspectives of faculty and administrators; and applied this new knowledge and perspective to design new educational opportunities for their peers. They will now work to implement the projects they crafted and continue to serve as change agents and leaders at their schools and beyond.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been gratifying to see how dedicated our new fellows have been throughout their UIF training,鈥 said Alyssa Martina, director of the Doherty Center and 黑料不打烊鈥檚 faculty champion for the University Innovation Fellows program. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to see what will emanate from their research and efforts.”