2020 – 2021 UMF Activities
Student Executive Board
Fall 2020
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Marketing Director
Secretary
Winter 2021
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Marketing Director
Our Accomplishments
Save Summer 2021
Save Summer 2021 is a COVID-19 vaccine education video aimed at Millennials and GenZ.. The aim of the video is to promote the COVID-19 vaccines to the younger generations. This idea was created by a freshman student at the University of Michigan- Flint, Christina El Zerka, and was aided in being brought to life by the Entrepreneurs Society.
Christina was “very concerned” when she conducted a poll on her Instagram account asking her circle of friends whether they will be taking the vaccine, only to discover that 44% of about 400 individuals would not be taking it. “I thought that people in my generation would know better”, says Christina. “This is a terrible infection and since we finally have the vaccine, we really need to trust in the science and take the vaccine”, says Christina.
In hopes of promoting the vaccine and changing young people’s minds as quickly as possible, Christina created the Save Summer 2021 vaccine education video. She mentioned the idea to her Mentor, Dr.Witt, who strongly encouraged her to proceed. “Christina really cares about the health of our community. Her video is helpful to encourage people to get vaccinated. “It’s a wonderful idea “ says Witt.
Christina was “very concerned” when she conducted a poll on her Instagram account asking her circle of friends whether they will be taking the vaccine, only to discover that 44% of about 400 individuals would not be taking it. “I thought that people in my generation would know better”, says Christina. “This is a terrible infection and since we finally have the vaccine, we really need to trust in the science and take the vaccine”, says Christina.
In hopes of promoting the vaccine and changing young people’s minds as quickly as possible, Christina created the Save Summer 2021 vaccine education video. She mentioned the idea to her Mentor, Dr.Witt, who strongly encouraged her to proceed. “Christina really cares about the health of our community. Her video is helpful to encourage people to get vaccinated. “It’s a wonderful idea “ says Witt.
Save Summer 2021 will be establishing social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat in efforts to reach its audience. Christina is working on establishing a website page (savesummer2021.com). Additionally, the hashtag that will be used for the campaign is #savesummer2021
“We need more people to take this vaccine if we ever want to have our lives back.” – Christina
Check out Mid-Michigan Now’s article about this project.
Maize & Blue Scholar Award
ES President, Giorgia Pasqui, won the Maize and Blue Scholar award for Fall 2020 and was the commencement speaker as well!
An Evening with Kunal Mehta
We hosted Venture Capitalist and author of Finding Genius and Disruptors, Kunal Mehta, on March 9th, 2021. Kunal Mehta spent two years interviewing venture capitalists who first invested in these companies to extract valuable insights. The got to hear about what companies like Alibaba, Twitter, Pinterest, Tesla, Lyft and Airbnb brought to the table to persuade venture capitalists to invest in them. Huge thank you to Kunal Mehta for such wonderful information.
2020-2021 Speakers
We want to thank all of the wonderful speakers we had at our speaker series this year.
Pauline Temple, a Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant at Boston Scientific, During this event, Pauline covered a variety of different topics including but not limited to:
- How to stand out from other applicants
- Steps you can take to prepare for an interview
- What recruiters do not want to see
- How can a candidate make a lasting impression?
An International and domestic business development and innovation economy expert, Andréa DeSilva is equally comfortable maneuvering bureaucratic processes and fast–paced industry. A champion of Intellectual Property and International Trade, Ms. DaSilva built the first ever government Media & Entertainment Portfolio, eventually becoming the Global Team Lead. Thanks to her, we were able to learn abou the variety of resources and opportunities abroad for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Chris Bohinsky is the Assistant Manager and Instructor/Maker Guru of Factory Two, a local business built on the idea that learning, sharing and creating are empowering and transformative. These qualities can open doors and revolutionize both perceptions and realities. During his talk, we were able to learn how we can access everything from 3D printers and laser engravers, to wood/metal, and print shops, and more!
Emergency Medical Physician and Founder/Chief Scientist at Crosby Innovations, Dr. Douglas Crosby M.S., M.D., came in to speak about his journey into Entrepreneurship, and how he partnered with 100k Ideas to develop a prototype Hand Sanitizer which uses ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and viruses from your hands, including the Covid-19 virus!
Flint Green
The Entrepreneur Society was pleased to work with Flint Green to support their efforts to bring clean energy to low-income homes.
Flint Green is a 501 (c) (3) Corporation organized for the purpose of building and installing a novel wind-solar energy production system on low-income houses in Flint, MI. The prototype system was developed under an Economic Development Administration grant from the Small Business Administration in the summer of 2019. This prototype unit was developed by students in an interdisciplinary effort that included students from engineering and the School of Management at the University of Michigan – Flint. Currently hooked up and functioning, the prototype unit was installed on a house of a handicapped individual. The prototype unit is presently producing electricity.
The combined solar and wind turbine system is designed to meet the wind patterns in an urban setting, coupled with the snow and other wintery conditions in Flint. The prototype unit needs enhancement and engineering improvements, but it generally functions for its instated purpose.
The next step in this process is to upgrade the engineering and ergonomics, i.e., the controls and wiring. A ten-unit installation then follows in this process after the system is streamlined for production and installation. It is expected to cost between $75,000 and $100,000 for a ten-unit installation. The target is a $1,500 per unit production cost, with an additional $1,500 in installation and monitoring expenses. It is presently Bluetooth-enabled and is anticipated to produce $75 per month and electricity, which meets 100% of the energy requirements for an 800 sq. ft. house.
The new system is hoped to be produced and installed for $3,000. Fundraising to install a $3,000 unit on a low-income house is the targeted application for a completed model, provided that the ten-unit test of this system in place functions. This will take approximately one year to accomplish.
