Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program Awards 2024
Another exciting and engaging school year has come to an end for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program and now it is time to celebrate some exceptional student entrepreneurs. The E&I Program and the School of Management recognized the academic and entrepreneurial success of twenty-seven talented Clark University students at the annual E&I Awards Night on April 19 in Tilton Hall. The two areas of celebration were Sigma Nu Tau Honor Society inductions and the E&I program recognition awards.
The awards evening is designed to recognize students in the presence of their support systems. With over 70 friends, family, and parents in attendance, the students were recognized in two ways – academic excellence and venture development. The School of Management Dean Dr. David Jordan and Program Manager, Teresa Quinn, kicked off the evening with well-wishes and dinner. After dinner, the attendees enjoyed two unique student-created cakes by Marissa Colby, owner of Comfort Food Clark.
Cakes by Marissa Colby ’27, Comfort Food Clark
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Keynote Speaker – Dan Mazei, founder of All Tangled Roots
This year’s keynote speaker was Dan Mazei, founder of All Tangled Roots and adjunct professor in the E&I program. Mazei, though not a Clarkie by graduation, embodies what it means to be a Clarkie and spoke in-depth on the importance of entrepreneurs moving the kindness needle in the world of business. Mazei worked most of his career in large corporations such as Activision Blizzard, Tinder, Ford, Reebok, and Edelman, but felt it was time to put human kindness back into business after a few unsettling situations in the corporate world. Mazei started a marketing consulting firm called All Tangled Roots in January 2024, which “delivers with an emphasis on energy, imagination, curiosity, respect, humility and levity.”
Sigma Nu Tau Induction
After Mazei’s heartfelt address, E&I program adjunct professor Stacie Hargis began the induction process into the Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Society. This year 12 new entrepreneurship minors were inducted into the society.
Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Society was founded in the spring of 2009. Currently, the Sigma Nu Tau Honor Society has 49 chapters with more than 3075 members. Clark’s chapter was inducted in 2022 as the 43rd member.
Each school places its own requirements for membership on its incoming inductees. Clark’s E&I program requires a completed Entrepreneurship and Innovation minor with a 3.6 GPA, active involvement in the progression of entrepreneurship on Clark’s campus, and integrity and honesty in venture formation. We are proud of our 2024 inductees.
2024 Sigma Nu Tau Inductees
- Rebeca Caswell-Shacham ’24, Psychology
- Sadie Kaim ’24, Economics
- Dylan Kern ’25, Psychology
- Anthony Locasto ’25, Economics
- Rebecca Mauro ’24, Management
- Moses Millman ’24, Environmental Science
- Elli Mouchtaridou ’24, Economincs
- Victoria Pastor Osorio, ’24, Marketing
- Raiven Quirk ’24, Psychology
- Alexander Tozian ’24, Media, Culture & the Arts
- Da’Vyana Williams ’24, Psychology
- Tinghao Zhang ’24, Psychology and Economics
Sigma Nu Tau Pledge
“I pledge to uphold the mission, the values and the ideals of Sigma Nu Tau
Entrepreneurship Honor Society. I will strive to use my education and experience to
create successful ventures and a better society, and I will challenge myself and others to
be principled entrepreneurs. I will be honest in my dealings with others and seek always
to represent Sigma Nu Tau and Clark University with integrity.”
Student Presentations
Year-end Review
After inductions, current entrepreneurship students and program student staff took the stage to show off a bit! Henry Reyes (’23 ’24) shared a few exciting events from the 2023-24 school year and presented a year-end review video produced by Natalie Hoang.
Launch of Clarketplace
Next, the E&I program’s student staff, Emily Levesque ’26 and Kyan Lahiri-Clements ’27, website designer and website developer respectively, took to the stage to share the E&I’s Fiverr-Etsy style platform for Clark student entrepreneurs and small business owners – Clarketplace. Fiverr is a freelance platform for individuals to sell their services and Etsy is a platform for small businesses to sell their products.
Kyan and Emily have worked to make this site a reality for the last three months and although it is in the beta testing phase, the site is fully operational. Clark student business owners can list their ventures on the site for free. With the search feature, anyone can search for a service or product and be shown Clark student businesses that can accommodate that request. From there, customers will be directed to the student’s venture “page”, where the business contact information, products, and services offered are listed.
Kyan and Emily plan to use this beta site, located on the current Clark Student Ventures webpage, to work out any kinks, and then build a separate, more robust site in the fall.
Clark Thrift Store Fundraiser
With great excitement, the Clark Thrift Store will continue full operations in the fall as the construction project to demolish the building has been put on hold!
Thus, after the exciting launch of Clarketplace, (with a full round of confetti), Clark Thrift Store Manager, Esther Lasser, took to the stage to share the thrift store’s planned 2024-25 events. The store covers its costs with general day-to-day sales operations, and while it is a vital part of the entrepreneurship community, additional events hosted by the thrift store are not covered by these sales. Therefore, the thrift store team asked for funding support for five events that promote Clark entrepreneurs across campus.
The main expense for these events is student staffing. Besides promoting entrepreneurs, these events create student jobs. Thus, donations will remain open with a yearly goal of $10,000 for the following events:
- Fall Extravaganza
- Fall Music Show
- Annual Fashion Show
- Spring Art Show
- Spring Music Show
The fundraising portal for the thrift store is still open. Please use the Give button on Clark University’s homepage, select an amount, under Designation: choose “other”, then in the Other section enter “Thrift Store”. Please feel free to forward your receipt to Teresa Quinn at tquinn@clarku.edu to ensure proper credit allocation. The Thrift Store student staff thank you!
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program Awards
This year there were 35 nominee submissions from across campus for three different student category awards – Clark Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Clark Student Venture of the Year, and Up & Coming Clark Student Entrepreneur of the Year. As with last year, this year’s competition was tough, making a difficult decision for the E&I adjunct professor committee. The committee narrowed the nominees to three top contenders in each category and chose a winner. Additionally awarded was the Program Manager Recognition Award chosen by Teresa Quinn.
Clark Student Entrepreneur of the Year
- Winner – Sophie Lee
- Finalist – Maddy Steigman
- Finalist – Natalie Hoang
Clark Student Venture of the Year
- Winner – Just for Fun Farms
- Finalist – Youth Apparel
- Finalist – Breads & Threadz
Up & Coming Clark Student Entrepreneur of the Year (first and second-years)
- Winner – Ana Gabriela Santana ’26
- Finalist – Cole Gushee-Nelson ’26
- Finalist – Forest Ryvicker ’26
Program Manager Recognition Award
Winner of the Program Manager Recognition Award was Natalie Hoang who demonstrated dedication to the E&I program as well as support and insight to the driving program decisions of the E&I Program Manager, Teresa Quinn.
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Special thanks to Jack Rogerson ’23 ’24 for technical support and live stream, Danny Fredette for photography, Sherydan Quinn, and Amanda Edson for event assistance.
Learn More About Clark’s E&I Program
Please follow the E&I Program’s social accounts – LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram – to keep up with all Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program’s events and activities as well as our events calendar and student-run website www.clarkstudentventures.com.
If you are interested in getting involved with Clark Tank or the E&I program, please reach out to Teresa Quinn at TQuinn@clarku.edu.
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About the Clark University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program
The E&I courses are designed to help a student identify problems, ideate solutions to those problems, and implement the best solution to bring about the desired change. Whether your interest is business ownership or social change, Clark University’s E&I minor complements any major to help you gain the full benefit of your educational experience and future goals.
Media Contacts:
Teresa Quinn, Manager of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program
Email: TQuinn@clarku.edu
Meredith Galena, Communications Specialist, School of Management
Email: MGalena@clarku.edu