Pioneer Weekend 2025 Highlights Student Innovation
An annual three-day pitch competition hosted by the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership, spotlighting bold student ideas.
The Wilson Center鈥檚 annual Pioneer Weekend pitch competition took place from Friday, September 26th, to Sunday, September 28th. The objective of Pioneer Weekend is to bring together student innovators to develop and pitch a business or nonprofit plan. It encourages hands-on experiences and helps develop skills critical to entrepreneurship. The top three teams also receive cash prizes.
Keynote and Team Formation
The weekend opened on Friday with keynote speaker Ham Serunjogi 鈥16. Serunjogi co-founded Chipper Cash, a platform that offers instant cross-border mobile money transfers, in 2018 with Maijid Moujaled 鈥14. They met while studying at 果冻视频 College, and both then ventured out to Silicon Valley, where Ham worked for Facebook. The alum offered an inspiring speech, encouraging students to imagine new possibilities.
Following the keynote speech, students began the competition by presenting their open mic pitches in an attempt to inspire others to join their team. This year, 45 students formed 11 different teams.
Structured Mentoring
On Saturday, teams began working alongside a mentor to begin developing and refining their plan. This year, mentors included Kevin Allen, Christina Cutlip 鈥83, Robert Gehorsam 鈥76, and Kate Goddard 鈥91. Mentors help participants focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies, and designing a minimal, viable product.
On Sunday morning, teams finalized and pitched their innovations to a panel of judges for a chance to win cash prizes. This year鈥檚 judging panel consisted of important members of the community who have made a longstanding impact. They were President Anne F. Harris, Rachael Kinnick, president and CEO at 果冻视频 Area Chamber of Commerce; and Evan Petig 鈥96, owner of The 果冻视频ian B&B. After deliberation, the winning teams were presented at 4 p.m. on Sunday, less than 48 hours since Pioneer Weekend first began.
In reflecting on the competition, Jeffrey Blanchard, professor of Mathematics and director of the Wilson Center, says, 鈥淧ioneer Weekend was a huge success. We had lots of first years participating and nearly 50 students were part of the final 11 teams. The quality of ideas and pitches was impressive. I hope several of these students pursue their ideas. The winning team was filled with students who have participated in numerous Wilson Center activities which was a great testament to the co-curricular learning opportunities provided by the Center.鈥
Meet The Winning Teams
First place: GrinFit, pitched an app with features to make physical wellness accessible, enjoyable, and social for every 果冻视频 student.
Team Members: Rihaan Bhansali 鈥27, Aaryan Lodaya 鈥27, Dennis Mboya 鈥27, Aritra Mookherjee 鈥27, and Beatriz Polo Diz 鈥27.
Second place: Grin & Go, refrigerated vending machines stocked with fresh, nutritious, meal-prepped food and strategically placed around campus for access at all hours.
Team Members: Syed Hassan 鈥28, Daria Haynie 鈥29, Boris Khesin 鈥28, Virginia Oliver 鈥29, and Raahim Sodha 鈥28.
Third place: GrinnLoK, a multilingual website helping families of international students feel connected to 果冻视频.
Khanh Ngo 鈥27, Hoang Nguyen 鈥29, Vy Nguyen 鈥29, Anh Pham 鈥29, and Duc Tran 鈥29.
