黑洞社区

Many students across Wichita State鈥檚 campus have heard about Shocker Startup since it started just two years ago, and co-founders LaRissa Lawrie and Hannah Hund continue their efforts to get students of all disciplines involved in innovation and entrepreneurship. But 黑洞社区 students aren鈥檛 the only ones taking an interest in this student-led approach; Hund and Lawrie鈥檚 ideas and success have expanded to the national level.

Most recently, the two seniors presented their work at VentureWell鈥檚 OPEN 2017 conference in Washington, which focuses on spreading ideas on how students and faculty can encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education.

鈥淚t was a really interesting conference because of the diversity of the people there as well as their fields of study,鈥� says Lawrie. 鈥淭here were entrepreneurship majors and Ph.D.s in engineering and liberal arts and sciences. It was really nice to see that everyone has a place in innovation and entrepreneurship.鈥�

With the help of Shocker Startup faculty advisor Gary Brooking, Hund and Lawrie submitted a poster to the OPEN 2017 poster competition that focused on how students can drive innovation on a campus, which was placed in the curriculum division.
鈥淚t was interesting because there wasn鈥檛 a true place for what we鈥檙e doing at Wichita State,鈥� says Lawrie. 鈥淣o one else is doing it that we know of.鈥�

The curriculum category, in which they placed first, was made up of professors, administrators and faculty who were all presenting ideas on how to teach entrepreneurship. As the only students presenting in that category, Hund and Lawrie鈥檚 poster was unique; it focused on how to get students to participate in entrepreneurship.

鈥淥ne of the things that was heavily featured in our poster was the interdisciplinary aspect of our initiatives,鈥� says Lawrie. 鈥淪hocker Startup is a student organization that鈥檚 open to everyone. We believe really amazing things happen when people of different backgrounds come together.鈥�

Hund says this is evident in the success the two of them have had together. She is an engineering and fine arts student and Lawrie studies strategic communication.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge testament to the success of the program because it鈥檚 still successful and sustainable now that we鈥檙e not leading it,鈥� says Hund. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just further proof of the concept of student sustainability in innovation and entrepreneurship.鈥�

While they don鈥檛 lead Shocker Startup anymore, Hund and Lawrie still promote their ideas across campus through their pop-up classes and guest lectures. They talk about design thinking, rapid prototyping and creative confidence skills, but their main focus is on helping students focus on their mission instead of their major.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really powerful because one of the challenges of entrepreneurship is making sure it doesn鈥檛 get pigeonholed into just being for engineering or entrepreneurship majors,鈥� says Hund. 鈥淲hen you talk about your mission and your goals, it鈥檚 easier to see how you鈥檒l need entrepreneurship to achieve it, which makes it really accessible.鈥�

Lawrie says the goal of Shocker Startup is to not only raise awareness for how people can use entrepreneurship to further their goals, but give them the vehicle to meet other people who can help them do it.

Hund relates it to the interdisciplinary nature of a music production. There are so many elements that go in to it, with different components of business, technical production and marketing, along with the musicians and conductors.

鈥淚 saw that we were doing that in music, but when it came to engineering and entrepreneurial projects, there was no place for people from different disciplines to come together and work on team projects,鈥� says Hund. 鈥淐reating this organization gives people the opportunity to meet students from outside their own college clubs.鈥�

One of the things Lawrie and Hund made clear in their poster was that their success had a lot to do with their evaluation of the climate and culture at Wichita State. They say they were fortunate because 黑洞社区 has a culture right now that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship and encourages faculty to make changes in the ecosystem.

鈥淪tudents are the future,鈥� says Hund. 鈥淚f we want to find a way to change the world around us or help others, we need to be able to have the tools and skillsets to make businesses and affect our economy.鈥�