Stories & Updates

Covid-19 hasn't stopped senior instructor DiFelice, pictured above, from continuing to serve in important mentorship roles for Horn Entrepreneurship students from his own home.

As 2020 Hen Hatch finalists prepare for the busy days ahead leading up to the Hen Hatch competition’s final round where everyone is invited to attend on Dec. 3. The Horn Entrepreneurship team had a chance to reflect on Hen Hatch with Horn community members who have been directly involved in the startup competition.

Hen Hatch, Horn Entrepreneurship’s premier startup funding competition, will hold its semifinal round on Nov. 5, 2020 to determine which six most promising business concepts will advance to the finals to be held on Dec. 3, 2020. The 20 semifinalist teams have already progressed through one round of judging.

Editor’s note: This guest post by Nick Novoa is a compilation of Horn Entrepreneurship students’ firsthand experiences with their summer internships.

Having freshly graduated college, Gail Ball was at her first job when she encountered exclusion and discrimination in the workplace because she was a woman.

An avid golfer, Ball decided to sign up to join her workplace’s recreational golf league. But her enthusiasm was cut short to find that her participation was strictly forbidden.

“I got a note saying, ‘No, you’re not invited.

New Product Development is offered through the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources and teaches students about the product development process, from the inception of a product and the natural resources used to create it to it’s shelf-life. I spoke with Alanna Weiss, a senior Hospitality Business Management major, about how a trip to Switzerland got her involved in entrepreneurship, how the certificate program has shaped the way she interacts with objects in her daily life, and what she plans to do with her entrepreneurial education in the future. 

Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Health is offered through the College of Health Sciences and teaches students how to create healthcare solutions and products via entrepreneurial methods. Susan Varghese, a junior Cognitive Science major, told me all about how she got involved with entrepreneurship and why she’s so passionate about it.

The Design & Creative Making certificate is offered through the College of Arts & Sciences and teaches students how to think creatively and apply entrepreneurial thinking to design creation. I interviewed freshmen Fashion Merchandising major Brianna O’Doherty about why she joined the Design and Creative Making certificate and how she intends to utilize entrepreneurship skills in fashion merchandising.

Have you ever wanted to learn about a different field of study without the pressure of adding a minor to your degree? Or found a minor you wished you could add, only to find out that it was in another college and not offered to you? Well then the certificates program may be perfect for you!

With fall enrollment quickly approaching, Horn Entrepreneurship encourages students to have one course, ENTR/LEAD253: Individual Leadership - Building a Foundation for Success, on their radar. A foundational entrepreneurship course, ENTR253 offers an experience to first lead yourself as you embark on a lifetime of leading others. But the course also comes with many other perks that you may not know about!