Five finalists compete for top prizes at Innovation Challenge

Five finalists in McDaniel’s second Innovation Challenge will present their proposals and compete for top prizes at 6:30 p.m. April 10 in the Decker Center Forum. Three prizes of $10,000, $5,500 and $2,500 will be awarded to the top three finalists chosen by the judges.

The five finalists were chosen from a pool of 15 entries submitted by McDaniel students. Proposals, posted on the Innovation Challenge website, include ideas for oyster conservation in the Chesapeake Bay, services for people with disabilities, support through life’s transitions, clothing resale online thrift stores, and more.

The finalists, in alphabetical order with graduation year, are:

• Justin Arter ’20 of Waldorf, Md., and Louis Schaab ’20, a Business Administration major from Laurel, Md.

Ride with Pride addresses the need for accessible, affordable transportation for people with disabilities in Carroll County. Through the use of federal grants and state funding, as well as donations from charitable organizations and private donors, Run with Pride is able to provide the service to the community at a more reasonable price and with more accessibility. Different kinds of vehicles will be used for the transportation service, rather than the usual bus or van, to break the stigma of handicap transportation. Customers will be able to "Ride with Pride" in something a little more stylish.

• Lucy Benson ’17, a History major from Wilmington, Del., and Gavin Gibson ’19, a Psychology major from Newark, Del.

RunInTwo is a social media app that enables runners to find other runners in an area by providing live stream locations of its users. Participants can plan times to meet up and exercise, as well as earn points by completing their goals and by running past select locations, such as featured small businesses. The app also features an option where users can discover and create new trails that will be populated by other members.

• Brandon Cortese ’17, a Sociology major from East Windsor, N.J.; Hunter Metcalf ’17 an Art major from Blain, Pa.; Maia Hanlon ’19 a Computer Science and Mathematics major from Madison, Wis.; Sam Hampton ’19 a Computer Science and Mathematics major from Delmont, N.J., and Dajuan Price '17, Communication major from Cllinton, Md.

BookSwap is a mobile application used for students on college campuses to sell and buy textbooks conveniently from their peers. Rather than accessing websites and waiting days or weeks for their textbook or paying prices for new books at the bookstore, BookSwap will provide a database for students to establish their own cheaper, more convenient textbook market for their campus.

• Peter Cory ’18, a Sociology major from Phoenix, Md.

Service Dog Therapy is a weekly program in which service dogs are brought to a college campus to improve mental health of students and serve as a retention tool. What would make the program unique is the formation of a partnership with healthcare insurers, such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare and Aetna. The prototype program would take place at McDaniel College. Homesickness, as well as depression and anxiety, are common problems among college students. Interaction with therapy dogs has been shown as an effective means to provide relief from these problems and improve quality of life, especially for college students.

• Zach Fortuna ’19 of Metuchen, N.J.

D1V3RG3NT offers a more efficient way to play tailgate games using a single, all-purpose table with the option of different and easy-to-deploy set-ups that would address the inconvenience of both traveling with and storing multiple games with substantial duplicative structures. The goal of the product is to improve the overall tailgating experience and bring more people together.

Judges for the finals are Kristen Ellis, an entrepreneur and winner of the 2016 Carroll Biz Challenge for her Enter Exit Escape adventure and team building experience; Kristine Harjes ’14, an analyst at The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company based in Alexandria, Va., where she manages Fool.com’s healthcare content; which includes hosting the podcast “Industry Focus: Healthcare,” and Danielle Rowlett Tate ’03, founder and CEO of MissNowMrs.com, a website that helps those newly married change their last name, and author of “Elegant Entrepreneur: The female founders guide to starting and growing your first company.”

Judges for the first round selection of finalists are Josh Ambrose, director of the college Writing Center; Julie Routzahn, associate professor of Economics and Business Administration and Innovation Fellow for The Encompass Distinction Program; Nigel Burdett, lecturer in Business Administration, and Jason Stambaugh, McDaniel entrepreneur-in-residence.

The McDaniel Innovation Challenge is sponsored by The Encompass Distinction and made possible with the generous support of Dennis Sisco ’68 & Alexine Lesko through The Sisco Fund for Enterprise Management.