For the second year in a row, the University honored Orange ingenuity with two days of celebration, networking and a friendly pitch competition as part of the 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Alumni Entrepreneur Awards.
Last Thursday, the 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Alumni Entrepreneur Awards ceremony recognized the 2024 honorees, culminating with a live reveal of the top 10 fastest-growing Orange businesses. The evening also included a conversation with , celebrity chef and baker from A&E鈥檚 hit shows 鈥淐ake Dynasty鈥 and 鈥淟egends of the Fork,鈥 who participated in a fireside chat, sharing the personal ingredients behind his entrepreneurial success.
The next day, honorees of the 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Alumni Entrepreneur Awards headlined the 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Summit. The summit allowed students to meet and network with top thinkers on engaging, practical and forward-thinking opportunities. The summit also included a 鈥淪ix for Six鈥 student pitch competition, where the top six campus innovation teams participated in a spirited 鈥淪hark Tank鈥-style format for a 鈥渨inner take all鈥 $6,000 grand prize selected by 鈥机鲍厂贰50 honorees.
Check out how the two days went:
鈥机鲍厂贰50 Alumni Entrepreneur Awards (Nov. 14)聽
Thomas O’Brien 鈥25, student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, kicked off the ceremony. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, provided the welcoming remarks for the evening. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Tracy Barlok, senior vice president and chief advancement officer, and Buddy Valastro, celebrity chef and baker, participated in a fireside chat. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)The University presented Valastro with an Otto the Orange cake as a thank you for participating in the evening’s festivities. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Student attendees were invited on stage to take a photo with Valastro and Otto the Orange. (Photo by Angela Ryan)Valastro posed for photos with attendees after the event. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Valastro posed with Aaron Krause 鈥92 (center), founder of Scrub Daddy and Otto the Orange. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Award winners and attendees had an opportunity to network after the awards portion of the evening. (Photo by Angela Ryan)Award winners and attendees gathered together after the awards portion of the evening. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Students enjoyed the networking event after the ceremony. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Otto had fun joking around with the award winners. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)
鈥机鲍厂贰50 Entrepreneurship Summit (Nov. 15)
The 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Summit included conversations and networking with the 50 fastest-growing alumni businesses. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Alex McKelvie, professor of entrepreneurship and interim dean of the Whitman School, provided welcoming remarks at the summit. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Students met and networked with alumni founders and top executives of leading innovation companies at the ‘CUSE50 Summit. (Photo by Marilyn Hesler)Haynie addressed the 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Summit attendees. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)鈥机鲍厂贰50 honorees participated in various panel discussions. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Students engaged with 鈥机鲍厂贰50 honorees. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)The 鈥机鲍厂贰50 Summit brought out great conversations and collaboration. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Students participated in a spirited 鈥淪ix for Six鈥 student pitch competition. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)Nicolas Courbage 鈥26 (center), student in the Whitman School and founder of PapeX, won the 鈥淪ix for Six鈥 student pitch competition. (Photo by Chuck Wainwright)
