Pitch-off growth reflects expanding interest in innovation

By Jeff Budlong
March 07

Judi Eyles remembers when the pitch-off competition was a single day in the fall and spring semesters. That leisurely pace has been replaced by a mini-marathon for Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship staff -- especially during the spring when all seven colleges hold an individual pitch day. At the fall event, all students, regardless of college, pitch during one contest.

The spring effort culminated Feb. 27 with the pitch finale in the Student Innovation Center. Winners from each college vyed for cash prizes for new and existing ideas.

"We have seen more students compete over the years,'' said the director of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. "This year, we had to go to four days in the fall to accommodate all the people who wanted to pitch. Spring has become a college competition and the numbers continue to grow."

Eyles said 132 students pitched their idea during the spring competition, and participants continue to get younger with more freshmen and sophomores taking part.

"Students are hearing about innovation and entrepreneurship earlier -- even in high school -- and they are getting involved," Eyles said. "There are more courses in each college focusing on entrepreneurship. It's a far cry from 20 years ago when we would hear, 'I wish I had known about this before I was a senior.'

"The pitch competition is an easy first step for a student because a 90-second pitch is not overwhelming and can lead to other things," she added.

Eyles said successful pitch participants often advance their ideas to CYstarters, an 11-week summer accelerator to focus on a startup or business idea.

Impact in the classroom

More instructors are using the pitch competition as a learning component in the classroom. Three instructors brought classes together last spring from different disciplines for "creative recess," making an interdisciplinary learning session led by students. Students worked on building pitches together, helping direct where instruction went.

"It is great, but it has caused a bit of a problem for us because we don't have enough room for all the students who want to pitch," Eyles said. "What we do now, we do a workshop in the class to teach them and then have them present in class. The top two finishers are guaranteed spots in the finale."

Instructors see the benefit that come from using the pitch contest as more than developing one idea. Eyles said learning to pitch teaches students how to speak in public and articulate a message, and it boosts their confidence.

Pappajohn staff also visit students in the classroom throughout the academic year to bring awareness to the pitch competition. Staff made more than 100 classroom visits this year, leading to an extra day -- called "overflow" -- added to hear all the spring pitches.

The finale

The seventh annual competition wrapped up Feb. 27 with 29 students presenting at the finale. The top two placers in each category -- new idea and existing business -- from each college competed, where the winners in each category took home $5,000. Second-place finishers received $2,500 awards, third took $1,500 and -- announced after all pitches were complete -- five students received $1,000 honorable mention awards.

The overall winner for best existing business -- for the second consecutive year -- was Cam Reiman, a senior in dietetics animal ecology, who pitched to the judges holding her blue-tongued skink (lizard). She sells NutriCubes, preportioned servings of blended ingredients for exotic animals.

The best new idea winner was Hala Deng, a senior in biology. She developed MedTrans, a medical translating device for patients that can break down medical jargon and relay it to the patient in simple, lay terms in real time. The device would give patients an understanding of complex medical terminology during consultations. 

Other finale placers were:

New idea 

• Second place: Ian Hutchison, College of Design, Case Closed is a tabletop game easily understood by young players and engaging for adults.
• Third place: Andrew Bergerson, College of Human Sciences, Runaway is a digital device that collects data as athletes run past sensors.
• Honorable mention: Joyita Sarkar, College of Human Sciences, Get Social AI helps users spread their message across popular social media applications.
• Honorable mention: Jonathan Duron, College of Engineering, Tag-Tech provides small tags attached to items -- for example, cars at a dealership -- that when scanned by a cellphone display information.

Existing business

• Second place: Lincoln Stover, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Merc provides drones with GPS-aided software for precise crop-spraying.
• Third place: Megan Lenzi, College of Human Sciences, Eaze Clasp helps people lacking fine motor skills to more easily secure their jewelry.
• Honorable mention: Kadin Kruse, College of Business, Project Damocles is an alarm clock designed as a fire alarm (users pull a handle to silence the alarm). 
• Honorable mention: Andrew Jesus, College of Engineering, Zeus Labs helps young students learn about and engage in STEM fields.
• Honorable mention: Jacob Kautman and Colin Gauck, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Campus Town Trading provides a one-stop online spot on a variety of financial topics.

 

 

Deadlines adjusted for delay in student financial aid data

By Angie Hunt, news service
March 07

Iowa State's financial aid and admissions teams continue to assist students and adjust deadlines in response to ongoing delays with the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

In a typical year, incoming first-year students would have received their financial aid offers in early February. Student financial aid director Chad Olson said it likely will be mid- to late April before students receive offers this year. The timing will depend on when Iowa State -- and other colleges and universities -- receive FAFSA information from the U.S. Department of Education, which is expected in mid-March.

"We know incoming students are waiting for this information to make their decision, and we plan to send out aid offers as quickly as possible," Olson said. "Last year, we processed more than 40,000 FAFSAs -- around 14,000 for incoming students -- so the process does take time."

Admissions has adjusted its cancellation date from May 1 to May 20 to give incoming first-year students additional time to make a decision after receiving their financial aid offer. This is the date up to which students can receive a partial refund on their $425 acceptance fee if they decide to not attend Iowa State. Executive director of admissions Katharine Johnson Suski said her team continues to provide updates for incoming students and encourages them to continue with the enrollment process.

"We know this is a challenging time for students and we want them to feel confident in their decision, which is why we extended the cancelation date," Johnson Suski said. "Incoming students who plan on attending Iowa State should move forward with housing contracts and registering for orientation as they wait for their financial aid offers, knowing they can withdraw with a partial refund if their financial aid offer doesn't meet their family's needs."

Due to the ongoing delays, financial aid also had extended its priority date for students to complete the FAFSA form to Feb. 29. Student financial aid and several colleges also extended deadlines for scholarship applications through OneApp.

A resources page and FAQ about the FAFSA Simplification Act has been posted to Iowa State's student financial aid website. Students and their families also can find information and updates for common issues related to the revised FAFSA on the Federal Student Aid Alerts website.

 

Related story:

• Financial aid team is prepared for changes with revamped FAFSA, Jan. 4, 2024

Annual workshop benefits from new partnership

By Jeff Budlong
March 07

The fourth year of the annual Student-Centered Learning Workshop facilitated by Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) staff -- and required for faculty in all 61 academic departments on campus -- introduced an important new partnership.

"We collaborated with the directors from the student health and wellness unit to provide content knowledge and insight. Their expertise was invaluable, and we were grateful to have them co-present with us at each workshop," said CELT's program specialist Laura Bestler.

The workshop, focused on embedding students' well-being in learning environments, evolved from conversations among CELT staff and student health and wellness along with faculty, many of whom observed the same thing in their courses.

"We kept hearing that students faced challenges that impacted their academics," Bestler said.

CELT assessment coordinator Paul Hengesteg said working with associate vice president for student health services Erin Baldwin, student wellness director Brian Vanderheyden, student counseling services director Kristen Sievert and recreation services director Tony Dirth allowed people who work mainly with faculty or students to get a different perspective of the work being done and its impact.

"The general divide between academic affairs and student affairs nationally in higher education is noted in research, so the fact that we are partnering and working together is very important," Hengesteg said. "A collaboration like this will have a big impact campuswide because we all play a role in student well-being."

People in distress may not know there's help nearby unless it's been promoted, Bestler said. So, it's essential to tell faculty, staff and students about Iowa State resources.

"Repetition and hearing it from as many places as possible increases the odds that the person (or peer) who needs it knows about it," she said.

CELT's annual training and its efforts to embed well-being in its work were honored during Iowa State's second annual Health and Wellbeing Symposium held Feb. 2. (see breakout).

Workshop

To develop workshop content, student health and wellness leaders shared recent survey data with CELT staff that offer insight to ISU students' well-being:

• 51.6% screened as lonely
• 42.1% slept less than seven hours/night
• 31.4% screened as food insecure

This year's workshop was presented in the fall and early spring semesters and concentrated on three conditions: Mindfulness, gratitude and purpose.

Faculty were asked to consider how small shifts in their teaching, for example, taking time during class for students to refocus with a quick stretch, can be beneficial over the course of a semester. Before an exam, give students two minutes to write about something they are grateful for in their lives. Hengesteg noted how each change was small but could eventually lead to meaningful change.

The workshop also spotlighted the need to normalize help-seeking for students.

"It really was about affirming that seeking help is OK and important to our well-being," Bestler said. "It shows courage and pride to take care of ourselves."

She said one of the most important ways to help others -- faculty, staff or students -- is to ensure they know about the resources available to them at the university. Two examples are the Therapy Assistance Online self-help tool available 24 hours a day and Cyclone Support, a division of student affairs program to improve help-seeking behaviors among students to connect them with campus resources that assist with issues ranging from mental health to personal finances.

Teaching community

Bestler said the number of faculty who wanted to continue the conversation after the workshop exceeded previous years and led to a teaching community that will continue past this academic year. The well-being teaching community has more than 100 active participants in the inaugural semester. Faculty drive the discussion based on what they see in their learning spaces.

"Faculty see the need, recognize that learning about well-being  and talking to others about teaching is one of the most powerful tools they have," Bestler said.

Hengesteg said the community will work together to host conversations and reading circles, provide Cyclone Support training and discuss potential research connections between well-being and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Depending on availability, members may choose to participate in person, online or asynchronously, Bestler said. Faculty interested in joining the community this spring, email celt@iastate.edu. 

CELT, Greene honored for well-being efforts

By Jeff Budlong
March 07

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) and ISU police engagement and inclusion officer Natasha Greene were honored during the second annual Health and Wellbeing Symposium Feb. 2. 

Two Champion awards are presented at the symposium, one for individuals and one for departments. Student wellness director Brian Vanderheyden said the awards recognize those who embed well-being into their daily work.

CELT was recognized for its broad range of initiatives and workshops designed with well-being at the forefront, including this year's student-centered learning workshop for faculty. Vanderheyden also said the professional development on well-being CELT does with its own staff is important.

"They just launched the well-being teaching community, and they continue to engage faculty in how they are developing skills and embedding well-being into teaching practices and the learning environment," he said.

Greene concentrates a significant amount of her outreach across campus on safety and well-being. She serves on the Green Dot campus team that works with the violence prevention coordinators in student wellness, the Cyclone Support team that helps students through a variety of possible challenges and several others. 

"She connects with tens of thousands of students, and she takes an active role in many initiatives to advance well-being at the university level," Vanderheyden said.

Spring 2024 results: College pitch-off contests

March 07

* Finale award recipient

Pitch: New idea

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• First place: Hala Deng*
• Second place: Braden Hickman

Ivy College of Business

• First place: Anastasha Mealy
• Second place: Andrew Holtz

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

• First place: Callan Randall
• Second place: Bailey Sieren

College of Design

• First place: Grant DeWaay
• Second place: Ian Hutchison*

College of Veterinary Medicine

• First place: Melanie Wendt

College of Human Sciences

• First place: Joyita Sarkar*
• Second place: Andrew Bergerson*

College of Engineering

• First place: Conner Trznadel and Pape Ndao
• Second place: Nathan Van Thomme

Overflow session      

• First place: Jonathan Duron, Engineering*
• Second place: Drew Wetterlind, Engineering

Pitch: Existing business

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• First place: Jacob Kautman and Collin Gauck*
• Second place: Spenser Leise

Ivy College of Business

• First place: Ivy Hemesath
• Second place: Mia Nichols

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

• First place: Cam Reiman*
• Second place: Lincoln Stover*

College of Design

• First place: Laura Branch
• Second place: Steve Nguyen

College of Human Sciences

• First place: Megan Lenzi*
• Second place: Jackie Royston

College of Engineering

• First place: Henry Shires
• Second place: Andrew Jesus*

Overflow session

• First place: Kadin Kruse, Business*
• Second place: Kaden Bowie, Business

No College of Veterinary Medicine students competed in this category this spring.