Stories & Updates

Jaeah Yoo, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2021, was inspired to help Puerto Rico recover from natural disaster and traveled to the United States territory in conjunction with Blue Hen Leadership Program (BHLP) and Community Collaborations to help repair and restore the local community around San Juan. Jaeah’s registered student organization (RSO), People for Puerto Rico and BHLP brought a team of more than 25 students and built authentic relationships while delivering community impact. 

Jamie Fisher, Communications Class of 2018, finished her senior year at the University of Delaware with a desire to enter an entrepreneurial working community. By applying patience and making authentic connections, Jamie got off to a dream start with Trapica, an artificial intelligence targeting optimization and marketing automation for marketers, in Philadelphia, PA. 

Jean Filo, the former president of Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club) at University of Delaware, has found freedom in entrepreneurship while pursuing a graduate degree in medicine. Filo, who emigrated to the United States from Syria with his family, says the life he left behind in Syria has inspired him to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and leverage his personality traits to create opportunity.

James Massaquoi, a co-founder of 360VR Technology and finalist at Hen Hatch 2019, served as a Global Business Operations intern for Google this past summer. James, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 2020, was hesitant to leave Delaware and his fellow co-founder, Sury Gupta, alone to work through the Summer Founders program, but enjoyed a relaxing summer filled with insights that has the young entrepreneur eager to continue striving to create unique value. 

After deeply exploring the tech space on his entrepreneurial journey, Jonathan Wood, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Class of 2019, discovered his true unique value. The recent graduate emphasized his own tech and entrepreneurial capabilities to land a full-time tech role within PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a Big Four public accounting firm with more than 250,000 global employees.

Entrepreneurs are defined by risk-taking and initiative, and Entrepreneurship majors Meredith Ackerson, Class of 2020, and Mason Faust, Class of 2022, are no exception to this rule. Meredith, around the Horn Entrepreneurship community since her first year on campus, wanted a place for students to read all the books the speakers and local business leaders recommended to students. Now in her final year, Meredith has made her idea a reality with the new VDC Lending Library.

Patient Sortal, a Hen Hatch 2019 winner in the alumni track, has grown from a nascent startup to a qualified healthcare data management company eager to make a difference in the lives of patients with chronic conditions. Founder Kenny Eck, Alfred Lerner College of Business Economics, Class of 2018, says that persistence and the unwavering support of his family, are what have made the two-year journey possible.

Jaeah Yoo, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2021, will be traveling to Puerto Rico with his registered student organization (RSO), People for Puerto Rico (PPR), to carry out a dream two years in the making. The PPR President and member of Blue Hen Leadership Program (BHLP) stuck through the ups and downs of running an organization and through growth and self-reflection, made a service trip to Puerto Rico a reality.

After more than 20 years of teaching at the intersection of creativity and leadership, as well as 10 years in non-profit leadership positions, Dr. Tony Middlebrooks has co-authored and released Discovering Leadership: Designing Your Success, with James L. Morrison, a professor of public policy and administration at the University of Delaware, Scott J. Allen and Mindy S. McNutt. The foundational leadership text will be used across LEAD100 course sections and beyond at the University of Delaware, as well as adopted by other universities across the country.

John Smothers, Leadership and Entrepreneurship & Technology Innovation, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, discovered his true passion through the entrepreneurial journey and pivoted away from his business management degree to dive into leadership and entrepreneurship. Now, John is a founding partner at Dimension Ventures, an investment firm eager to create real impact for a better future through investments in highly selective startup ventures. But John’s journey wouldn’t have been possible without his work ethic and the transformational relationships he was able to form.