Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,
This semester set a new high-water mark for how many Bucknellians we can engage and how much fun we can have together. September marked the start of our Fall Founders Speaker Series and we hosted our first ever Innovator-in-Residence, Fred Thomas. In October we welcomed our Advisory Board to campus and celebrated with a ribbon cutting event and an insightful talk by serial entrepreneur and start-up coach Monica Laurence. Earlier this month we were honored to have Bucknell Magazine celebrity Cristiano Bierrenbach as our inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
The new year brings our student-founder-focused Spring Sprints series, our first Nonprofit & Arts Leader in Residence, Steve Bass, who will keynote our nonprofit workshop, and the early rounds of BizPitch, among many other activities that foster connections.
You can find all the PGCEI news you ever wanted to read on our blog. Please reach out if anything that we're working on interests you!
Wishing you all the very best this holiday season,
Erin Jablonski
|
| |
|
The Center serves as a catalyst to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset - one that is curious, resourceful, resilient, and solutions-focused - so that they are equipped with versatile skills that enhance their ability to navigate complex problems and transform challenges into opportunities.
|
|
|
Design-Build Entrepreneurial Internships
Kudos to these talented students working directly with alumni and faculty mentors to build ideas.
Leveraging her experiences in prototyping medical devices and her knowledge of biomechanics, Claire Hayes, biomedical engineering '26, is working with alumnus Bill Vitriol '75, to reimagine the engineering of canes to provide enhanced mobility and comfort. Claire participated in the MedTech Summer Entrepreneurial Fellows Program led by PGCEI Faculty Fellows, Professors Charles Kim and Bill Meek.
After also participating in the entrepreneurial summer program, Anna Tsigler, biomedical engineering '27, connected with alumna and innovative grandmother Cynthia Prather '73, to build her idea. Their collaboration started in the summer and has continued this fall; they're looking forward to a refined model in December.
More recently, Alyssa Chan, mechanical engineering & management '27, and Brenna Echkart, mechanical engineering '27, have been working with faculty mentor Nate Siegel and alumnus Kyle Zimmermann '22 to bring Kyle's vision for sustainable architectural products into reality. Kyle was inspired to improve the facades of the historic buildings that surrounded him while working on the restoration of the famed Pulitzer Fountain in Manhattan.
|
| |
|
Centers Ribbon Cutting Event on October 22, 2025
|
|
|
Students, faculty, staff and alumni celebrated the official Ribbon Cutting for Bucknell's two newest centers. We are immensely grateful to our founding donors who made this all possible, Sue Gegnas Perricelli '94, P'25 and Scott Perricelli '94, P'25, and our generous co-founders: Susan Corridoni '92, Scott Ehrlich '93 and Deborah Dougherty, Nancy Grden '73, Mike Maiolo '89, P '26, Brian Regan '93, P'25, John Reynolds '92, P'27 and Stacy Ingeneri Reynolds '94, P'27, and the Sherrick Family: Ed '67 and Pat, Steven '92, Michael '94 and Suzanne '97.
|
|
|
September 22-26: Innovator-in-Residence | Fred Thomas of HP | The Craft of Becoming an Inventor. Fred spoke in several courses throughout the week and participated in the College of Engineering EC4 Event, where he also connected with the membership of the Bucknell Engineering Alumni Association. Fred's advice about how each of us can build a robust set of innovation-enabling tools and skills resonated with every audience.
| |
|
|
October 23: Speaker | Monica Laurence of The Mavericks Game | Going the Distance - Stepping Into Your Power as an Entrepreneur. Monica shared compelling stories about her experiences and nuggets of truth that evoked the wisdom of a sage. She encouraged flexibility, resilience, and taking challenges in stride. Check out her maverick approach, in her own words.
|
| |
|
November 10-14: Entrepreneur-in-Residence | Cristiano Bierrenbach of Heritage Auctions | #curatorofcool. We kept Cris busy all week with guest lectures, dinners and club events. From his early days trading bootleg concert recordings on cassette tapes to being part of some of the most exciting auctions of pop culture memorabilia in recent history, Cris shared fascinating stories, encouraging life advice, and some very cool items. Cris finished his already full visit hosting a reception in Sojka.
|
| |
|
The PGCEI team sincerely thanks all of the alumni speakers who joined us for the Fall Founders series, and who visited our classes and shared their experiences.
|
|
|
******************************************************************************************************
SPRING SEMESTER | Spring Sprints Speaker Series (bi-weekly, Tuesdays@noon)
February 2-6: Arts/Nonprofit Leader-in-Residence | Steve Bass, former President and CEO of Oregon Public Broadcasting
|
|
|
Your support makes this work possible. Please consider making a gift that will enhance opportunities for students to pursue their passions.
|
|
|
Bucknell University
One Dent Drive | Lewisburg, PA 17837 US
You've received this as a result of your affiliation with Bucknell University.
|
|
|
|
