BY SHANTI BASU & LIZ ANASTASADIS
Alums and students from all over the world gather back on campus for one purpose, to meet each other.
What do you do when you’re tired of a song, in a creative rut, or looking to collaborate? Answer: ReMix. Drawing its name from the like, Denison’s first ever entrepreneurship summit this past week brought together an entrepreneurial community of alumni, community members and students to re-connect, re-imagine and re-fuel the Denison community. Hosted by the Red Frame Lab, events took place on Wednesday, Sept. 19 through Sept. 21.
“We wanted to bring together alumni and students for lessons on entrepreneurship–resilience, failure, leadership, ideation, design, innovation and disruption,” says Assistant Vice President of Student Development, Julie Tucker ‘09. “We wanted to re-connect across generation, experience, industry and major. To re-imagine possibilities. And to re-fuel our spirits, having been inspired by the stories we heard and the relationships we’ve built.”
By registering for the event, students were invited to attend the opening night dinner and other catered events, where they were encouraged to network with alumni across many different fields of entrepreneurship and business.
“The purpose was to have a conference for alumni by alumni, by Denison for Denison,” says Kerry Shea Penland, a staff member for Student Development and an Entrepreneurship Coach for the Red Frame Lab. “This way, alumni can learn from each other’s experiences through the network of Denison.”
If students didn’t sign up beforehand, there were a multitude of lectures, workshops, conferences and coaching opportunities open to all on campus throughout the week.
Through each chance to soak up insight was structured around students to make connections. Some students were introduced to internship and job opportunities by attending the various ReMix events.
“The impact has been extraordinary and very visible already. Some students have said it was their favorite day or event at Denison ever. Alums left campus feeling inspired and re-connected. I know of some students who made some connections for internships or even jobs post-Denison,” reflects Tucker. “Most importantly, though, we saw students come alive, hearing stories of what might be possible post-Denison. This has been so significant to me: that students heard the stories of entrepreneurial alumni and now think about entrepreneurship as a possibility for them.”
The Red Frame lab hopes to inspire and encourage students to think about their future lives post Denison.
“ReMix might have ignited something inside students,” says Tucker. “The sessions led by our alumni were fantastic–stories of failure, of starting companies, design, execution, taking risks, and building networks.”
The Red Frame Lab hopes that more students will stop by this year after hearing about ReMix. Throughout the year, the Red Frame Lab will continue to offer several workshops focused on networking and strategic thinking, including “Design Your Life”, informational sessions, entrepreneurial speakers and more.
“This next semester, we are hoping to better define entrepreneurship and kick off the purpose of the Red Frame lab.” says Penland.
To learn more about ReMix and the Red Frame Lab, like them on Facebook or follow them on Instagram @redframelab.