LA PLATA, Md. – College of Southern Maryland (CSM) students have joined faculty and staff in offering formal proposals to college leadership that improve services and the culture at the college through CSM’s Hawk Pitch program which mirrors the TV show, Shark Tank.
“As many forward-thinking entrepreneurs often remind us, without innovation we fail to grow, therefore, sometimes innovating begins with a new idea, but also innovation is taking something that already exists and making it even greater,” said CSM president Dr. Yolanda Wilson in announcing the winners.
“It is always good to have innovation in any higher education institution,” said CSM Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives Gretchen Hardman. “Every new thought, every new idea moves things forward. We want the students to invest in CSM and see their bright ideas brought to life because that only helps us advance our mission.”
Students started with an “I Have an Idea!” worksheet to help define their project and had access to mentoring and guidance as they honed it into a proposal that they presented in a short video. Submissions were judged on how well the idea fit into CSM’s mission and strategic plan, how realistic it was. and the impact it would have.
Austin Fowler earned first place for his idea of “Hawk Help” tutoring, which improves the tutoring available at CSM by offering more options and formats.
“This takes tutoring to the next level,” he said. He has been working with the tutoring center to help them to improve their promotion and outreach, including digitizing the tutoring schedule to make it more convenient for students to access.
Lydia Morris earned second place for her “Healthy Snacks At CSM” idea. The second-year nursing student pitched making healthy snacks available to students studying at the new Center for Health Sciences at the Regional Hughesville campus.
“In nursing school, they spend time in orientation talking about taking care of yourself, and I want to make sure all students have the ability to do that.” she said. “What we eat fuels our brain and when I eat better, I focus better.”
Although Morris’s idea didn’t receive funding through Hawk Pitch, it caught the attention of CSM’s Nursing Retention Coordinator, who helped to make it a reality.
Hardman said that the College Innovation Work Group was excited to see that student ideas were gaining traction with campus decision-makers.
“Part of our mission is to promote collaboration internally, and as these pitches come in, we try to connect the departments with the idea,” said Hardman. “No idea is too big or too small.”
The competition’s third place winner, Merresha Henry, also turned the heads of campus administration. She met with CSM’s marketing department about her proposal for CSM to sponsor a social media influencer to help promote the college and events on campus. The “content creators” are expected to debut in spring 2024.
“This would be a fun media influencer who would engage with students on campus and show CSM spirit,” Henry said. “I want students to realize that there is a lot to engage with at CSM. You have that college experience here.”
Hardman said that she is excited to continue watching Student Hawk Pitch evolve and encouraged any student with an idea to share to visit the Hawk Pitch website at https://www.csmd.edu/hawkpitch to get started. Faculty and staff pitches can be submitted at any time; student entries are due in the spring. On the first Wednesday of every month, a member of the College Innovation Work Group offers a coaching session to answer questions and help entrants to hone their ideas and develop their presentations.
“If you’re thinking about it, don’t be afraid to go for it,” said Morris. “CSM is a small community so you can really make a difference.”
The first cohort of student Hawk Pitch winners was announced at the Student Government Association’s Annual Spring Banquet. The first-place winner received project funding through the CIWG and a scholarship award equivalent to a three-credit class. The student in second place received a Dell Laptop loaded with Microsoft Office; and third place winner earned a $100 Gift Card to the CSM Bookstore.