Walton, Engineering Students Collaborate at Freshmen Innovation Experience

Brandon Howard

Hadley Ayers, a freshman College of Engineering student, pitches the "Fay-Day" event alongside her team at the Converge: Freshmen Innovation Experience during A-Week 2024.

A pitch to help immerse out-of-state freshmen in Fayetteville won a group of students $100 and a chance to implement their idea during A-Week in 2025.  

The idea, known as Fay-Day, was conceived during the Converge: Freshmen Innovation Experience, which paired students from the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the College of Engineering. Overseen and developed by U of A's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the workshop's goal was to pair students from different backgrounds in a collaborative environment during A-Week 2024. 

"Programs like this — cross collaboration between colleges involving students of all majors — offer the opportunity for hands-on experience, which OEI is designed to provide," said Phil Shellhammer, OEI's executive director. 

The McMillon Innovation Studio, OEI's campus innovation hub, led the workshop. Students formed groups and harnessed human-centered design methodology to address issues new students face when coming to the university. 

Parker Privatsky, a Walton College student and member of the Fay-Day team, said that many new students are facing the same challenges, and the question is "how can we take advantage and create a community here in Fayetteville?"  

The team, which included Alyssa Tennant and Israel Castro of Walton College and Hadley Ayers of the College of Engineering, proposed starting the day with lawn games at Old Main, then having a parade down Dickson Street that ends at the Downtown Square. In the evening, students would try some of the local cuisine before capping the night with fireworks and calling the Hogs.  

They made their pitch to panel of judges from OEI, which informed the students they would like to further discuss implementing Fay-Day next year. Other ideas pitched during the collaboration included an app to help new students navigate campus more efficiently, streamlining the U of A Housing portal to improve move-in and matching homesick students with familiar activities using artificial intelligence. 

Justin Urso, director of the studio, praised students for their pitches and unique innovations.  

"For freshmen, you all did an incredible job. Your public speaking skills were really good," Urso said. "I love how some of you just didn't focus strictly on a completely new thing, you were also focused on how you could make something existing better."  

Urso encouraged students interested in using innovation to solve real-world problems to get involved with the McMillon Innovation Studio.  

"If you enjoy thinking like this and doing things like this, then come join us in the studio, because we do this stuff. But it's working with the largest companies in the world, it's working with non-profits, you get to actually do these things that are going to impact people's lives," Urso said.  

Launched in 2016, McMillon Innovation Studio is open to students from all majors. The studio works to develop future leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators by cultivating their creative mindset and connecting them to opportunities to make real-world impact.  

Students in the studio are given access to valuable mentorship and resources — providing further support to cultivate their creative skills and empower them to deliver impact innovation through organizational, social and entrepreneurial change.   

The studio is one of several spaces overseen by OEI that allows students to start new ventures and harness innovation to solve real-world problems. Other locations include the Brewer Hub and Startup Village, both in downtown Fayetteville.

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.