McDermond Center for Management and Entrepreneurship at DePauw University

DePauw University students, great summer internship opportunity with The National Bank of Indianapolis: https://lnkd.in/g86viQuq

The McDermond Center was busy last evening as the DePauw Entrepreneurship Group (DEG) put on their Fall Pitch Competition. DEG co-presidents Ezekiel Bramble and Ellen Gardner facilitated, Dave Bittner from the West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center (Indiana SBDC) moderated, and McDermond staff Assistant Director Amanda Dorsett and Director Steve Fouty kept things moving smothly behind the scenes. But the stars of the night were the amazing judges and the student entrepreneurs! Our experienced judges were: Katie Birge '08, VP of Platform at M25; R. J. Talyor,'02 founder of Backstroke; Ben Hizer, CEO of Luminary AI Technologies; and Michael Leonard, Associate at North Coast Ventures. Our talented student winners: First place went to Hanan Tariq; second place to Samip Devkota; and third place to the team of Jadyn Lock and Madelyn Reinhardt! The judges were so impressed with the pitches, that they also gave honorable mention awards out to these three outstanding student entrepreneurs: Ben Schroeder, William Cramer and the team of Quan Tran and Ngoc Le. #pitchcompetition #entrepreneurship #depauwu #goldwithin #startupideas

The McDermond Center Speaker Series wrapped up the semester going strong with over 120 in attendance to hear DePauw University Darnall Alumni Fellow Honoree Jessica Curry '09, Senior Vice President at Teads in Chicago. Her presentation: "Building Your Own Brand: The Art And Science of Selling" shared her successful story from Media Associate (Buy Side) to leading and entire office as Senior Vice President of Sales (Sell Side). Jessica inspired students with many insights she has gained on her journey both at DePauw and then during her marketing and sales career so far. Jessica reminded students to utilize the vast DePauw alumni network and to take the lead, do the research, and reach out... don't be your first "no"! We kept Jessica very busy in addition to her main presentation: she started the day recording for an upcoming Conversations with Women Leaders Podcast for DePauw's School of Business and Leadership, answered questions from students in small groups, met with DePauw Alumni Engagement and the Communications team too! #depauwu #goldwithin #careersinsales #careersinmarketing #careersinadvertising #womeninleadership Thank you for participating with students during lunch as well Nathaniel Christensen!

Last week, The DePauw Real Estate Group hosted DePauw University alumni John Cusumano '17, Founder of Cusco. He discussed his time at DePauw University and his Real Estate path that led him to be the founder of Cusco! Thank you, John, for coming down, taking time out of your day, and sharing your incredible journey!

Thank you to DePauw University and Management Fellow alumna Brooke Bandy, CFA '19, Advisor at Goldman Sachs Chicago office for meeting with small groups of students today and discussing careers in wealth management.

Over 150 students and alumni listened as the McDermond Center Speaker Series hosted Darnall Alumni Fellow Honoree Lawrence Young '84 International Corporate Transformation Expert, Senior Managing Director at AlixPartners. Mr. Young is also a valuable member of the DePauw Board of Trustees. Through co-sponsoring with DePauw University's Development and Alumni Engagement team, the presentation was also streamed live to our alumni community with the expertise of Director of Alumni Engagement/DePauw Alumna Zaida Benassi '85. Larry Young spoke about his vast experience in leading "Mergers and Acquisitions and Restructuring in a Multicultural and Multinational World". He shared how culture must be discerned, learned and appreciated when doing business internationally. Thank you to The DePauw Investment Group co-president Caroline Condra for introducing Mr. Young and to senior Brian Wolf and first-year Cooper Grabow for participating in the dialogue as well. The program was also sponsored by the DePauw Consulting Group.

McDermond Center Speaker Series hosted DePauw University alumna Lindsay Gramlich '09, President and CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis, today to talk about careers in leadership in the not-for-profit space. From her graduation at DePauw during the '08-'09 recession to her long tenure and career advancement with The Children's Museum of Indianapolis leading to her current President/CEO with Girls Inc., Lindsay shared the life-changing and life-expansive experiences she had at DePauw that have continued to impact her journey for the last 15 years since graduating. She also brought insight into both the rewards and challenges of working in leadership for a non-profit organization - believing in the mission/vision of the organization is the upmost necessity for success! Thank you Lindsay for sharing with so many students - and for also doing the podcast recording for an upcoming Conversations with Women Leaders Series from the School of Business and Leadership.

Our fourth INDUSTRY INSIGHT PANEL focused on emerging careers in the ENERGY INDUSTRY. Thank you to our new DePauw University alumni panelists Neil Fitzharris '10, Senior Clean Energy Originator at Trio; and Paul Cummings '01, Senior Vice President of Development at energyRe for sharing your inside insights to the complex energy problems that traditional, green and clean energy organizations are attempting to solve and how a liberal arts degree at DePauw prepares you to critically analyze the issues, communicate effectively in proposing solutions and making a positive impact leading to a successful career in an energy organization. Thank you also to sophomore Management Fellow John Marshall Energy Sector Portfolio Manager in the The DePauw Investment Group who did a wonderful job as moderator of the panel; and special appreciation goes to our co-sponsor DePauw Environmental Fellows program led by Professor Jeanette Pope and Assistant Director Amber Hecko. #careersinenergy #depauwu #goldwithin #energyindustry

The McDermond Center hosted a special Industry Insight looking into THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN HEALTHCARE with esteemed Management Fellows: DePauw University alumni Kristin Sherman '88, Chief Executive Officer of Kovina Therapeutics and member of the 2024 Indianapolis Business Journal Indiana 250; and Mike Sherman '88 Life Sciences Board Member and Chair of the Board of Chimerix, Inc.. These two highly-engaging healthcare executives shared how the DePauw University liberal arts education is an excellent preparation to become leaders in solving the complex issues facing healthcare in the coming years; and the many diverse career paths available to make a meaningful impact. They also spent the afternoon meeting with small groups of students and providing more specific knowlege and mentorship. #depauwu #goldwithin #careersinhealthcare #healthcare

Last week the McDermond Center Speaker Series featured our Entrepreneurship Speaker Ben Hizer, CEO and Founder of Luminary AI Technologies and Chief Technology Officer/AI Architect for Legislative Intelligence. Ben shared his entrepreneurship journey that included time at DePauw University before jumping into BlueIndy and Doublemap Inc. and then into startup successes and failures, ultimately leading him to launch two exciting companies in the AI technology arena. Thank you, Ben, for engaging with our students and sparking their thoughts of ingenuity and creativity and how that can lead to starting their own business! #entrepreneurship #depauwu #goldwithin #startup #AI