Brianna Hoff was the recipient of a $1,000
scholarship for the best presentation as part of the Engineers Make Great
Entrepreneurs speaker series at South Dakota Mines.
South Dakota
Mines concluded its 17th annual Engineers Make
Great Entrepreneurs (EMGE) Speaker Series this fall. A total of 41 students
took home cash prizes. The program aims to develop a sense of entrepreneurship
among Mines students with the hope that they may aspire to start their own
company someday.
The program featured four evening sessions with three
speakers per session as well as the final presentation and pitch competition. Students
who attended and fully participated in the program were eligible to receive a
$250 cash prize and had the chance to win larger cash prizes for the best
two-minute pitch on how they planned to be entrepreneurial in their future
careers.
The winners were:
First place: Brianna Hoff ($1,000)
Second Place: Ding Lou ($750)
Third Place: Collin Fuller, Enzo Vaz Tessaro, Ava
Beck, Jonathan Mathews ($500)
The program was hosted each week at a new venue and
designed to engage students with exciting content featuring new speakers, a
free meal and the opportunity to learn from real-world entrepreneurs and
business leaders. This year’s venue hosts included RPM & Associates, H-S
Precision and RESPEC. In total, 47 students participated in the program with
others from the Mines Student Innovation Club who regularly attended sessions.
The EMGE speaker series is designed to inspire students to be
entrepreneurial in their future careers and provide them with opportunity to
develop professionally, network, and connect with like-minded students. It is the first of many opportunities for
students to engage and participate in the Mine’s student innovation cycle offered
through the Office of Economic Development and introduces students to the CEO
Student Business Plan competition.