Waynesburg University’s eHIVE recently announced the winners of its seventh annual Something from Nothing Challenge. Held February 10, 11 teams competed to see who could create and pitch the best product for a panel of judges.
Sponsored by the Women’s Soccer Team, Cogan Flanagan, Kaleigh McKinney, Gracie Smith and Natasha Ward won this year’s challenge, which was to create something of value out of popsicle sticks in three hours. The team built and pitched a food delivery robot named Buzz.
“Buzz is supposed to deliver food around campus to students through an app, and you can order from the Beehive, Starbucks, Chick-fil-a or even the market,” McKinney said. “This is something we all thought could be helpful especially since we have a lot of athletes on campus and being hurt and walking from place to place to get food can be annoying, as well as if you’re studying and need something to snack on, you can easily just order it and it’ll come to you.”
“The students did a wonderful job in this rapid innovation challenge, and showed strong teamwork skills, creativity, and adaptability,” said Adam Huckestein, eHIVE & Entrepreneurial Leadership program coordinator. “They had only three hours to create something of value from a table full of miscellaneous objects. Each team communicated well with each other and made very creative and innovative items.”
Teams competed for first, second and third place cash prizes, with a fan favorite prize also up for grabs. Sponsoring organizations also received donations if their teams placed. While the podium spots were selected by judges, the fan favorite was determined by a popular vote which received over 300 submissions.
Tyler Gordon, Cris Mecea and Emanuel Gomez-Galvis were awarded second place; Annabelle Bagley, Sara Clegg and Gina Reeves—sponsored by Waynesburg’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) took third. The fan favorite group was Taylor Stephens, Ella Whysong and Josie Plazio.
“Throughout the project, we had to think creatively, plan ahead, and make sure we marketed and presented our project clearly,” the winning team shared. “These are valuable life skills that can be used in almost any career. Being able to solve problems, stay organized, and communicate ideas effectively will help people succeed in their future jobs.”
“When the competition was established, our program was rooted in specific skills that we're teaching to up and coming students,” said eHIVE director Cassy Dorsch. “We based our competition on the World Economic Forum's Future job outlook when we started. One of the skills that was listed is creativity; complex problem solving and critical thinking and analysis along with creativity, originality and initiative. We asked, if we had an event and we provided this hands-on learning opportunity for students, what could we do? This competition, which has been generously sponsored by the Stover Foundation, really was the beginning of the eHIVE.”
The Stover Foundation was established in 1996 by Dr. W. Robert Stover, a 1942 graduate of Waynesburg, and his wife Joan. Dr. Stover served as its chairman prior to his death in 2015. He was a friend to Waynesburg University’s students, administrators and faculty for many years, also serving on the Board of Trustees as both a member and a chairman. His generous patronage made possible the Stover Campus Center dedicated in 1999, the distinguished Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership, student scholarships and the W. Robert Stover Entrepreneurial Leadership Endowed Fund, out of which the Entrepreneurial Leadership program and the eHIVE at Waynesburg were born.
About Waynesburg University
Consistently ranked a best value school, Waynesburg University’s Strategy for the 21st Century affirms its commitment to developing an entrepreneurial mindset and ethical leadership skills for all students. Rooted in its mission of faith, learning and service, the private, Christian university is located on a traditional campus in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, with an additional site for graduate and professional programs in Southpointe.
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