Business plans earn support

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:46:29 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Aamna Zia and Richard Jokinen took home some cash to support their new business ventures as this year's finalists in the Southventure Business Plan competition.

Supported by Dr. Dan Weeks, VP research, and the Office of Research and Innovation Services, the applicants were challenged to convince a panel of judges that their business plan has merit and is worthy of a cash investment.

Aamna Zia, left, and Richard Jokinen, right, were the recent finalists in the Southventure Business Plan competition. Each finalist earned a cash investment toward the establishment of a small business.

Jokinen received $6,000 as the first place winner. He's a current management student and founding partner in Mexspace.com, the first segmented dating/social networking community, and what he hopes is the future website of choice for young Mexicans around the world. With more than 140 million Mexicans worldwide, Jokinen believes that the website is viable because Mexico is a huge market, and does not currently have its own dating or social website community.

Zia, a management student currently taking classes at the U of L Calgary Campus, took second place and $2,000 for her work on CitizenBridge, a web-based citizen engagement system that gathers information about government resources into one location. It offers an opportunity for the public and government representatives alike to join in conversations about issues of public interest.

The panel of reviewers and judges have more than a century of business experience among them, and put the entrants through their paces at a final presentation in late February.

This story first appeared in the March 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Campus Kudos - April

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:00:35 +0000

Alumna Chelsea Matisz (BSc '06, MSc '09) was recently named the winner of the Ashton Cuckler New Investigator Award. This award is handed out by the American Society of Parasitologists and is given to the top graduate student in the field, based upon the quality of research accomplished during a candidate's graduate studies. In the past, this award has gone to a recently-graduated PhD student, while Matisz is currently in a PhD program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. She will be honoured at the Society's annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, in June.

Soprano Acacia Doktorchik (MMus) presents her final Graduate Recital on Apr. 14 at 8 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall.

Mart Blicharz (MFA New Media) has an exhibition entitled, Breaking The Spell: Work in Progress, showing at the U of L Penny Building until Apr. 15.

Tasha Diamant (MEd student) was invited to present a Human Body Project event at the Union Theological Seminary, a graduate degree-granting seminary associated with New York's Columbia ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Her presentation included a live Human Body Project performance followed by a discussion with faculty and students. The Human Body Project is the subject of Diamant's MEd research project, which mostly consists of a 53-minute documentary film, and is under the supervision of Dr. Erika Hasebe-Ludt and Dr. Leah Fowler.

Nicholas Louma (BFA '08) had artwork in the exhibition, Mind the Gap, at the Art Gallery of Swift Current in March.

Anna VanderHeide (BMus/BEd) sang in a Tribute to Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin organized by the newly formed Lethbridge Jazz Society in April.

Mike Pinder (Operations Co-ordinator, Sport and Recreation Services, BSc '04) was given a Lethbridge Sport Council Achievement Award for coaching excellence. Pinder is an assistant swim coach with the LA Swim Club, and in addition to coaching Youth Olympic medalist Rachel Nicol, is highly respected by athletes and parents for his dedication and commitment to the sport of swimming.

Ken Allan's (Art) article, Barnett Newman's The Wild: Painting as Spatial Intervention, has been accepted for publication by the American journal October, published by MIT Press.

Taras Polataiko (Art) had work displayed in the group exhibition, Delinear, at the Barbara Edwards Contemporary in Toronto.

Knud Petersen, a longtime supporter of Pronghorns Athletics through the Horns Booster Club, Operation Red Nose, Pronghorn Dinner & Auction, Casino Chair and Adopt-A-Horn programs, was given a Lethbridge Sport Council Achievement Award for Spirit in Sport.

Collin Zipp (MFA Art) is participating in a residency, culminating in an exhibition, at Daimon Video in Gatineau, Que.

Soprano Rachel Sinnott (MMus) presented a Masters Recital on Apr. 7 in ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall.

Pronghorns thrower Heather Steacy was given a Lethbridge Sport Council Achievement Award as Senior Female Athlete of the Year in 2010. Steacy, who took a year off of Canada West competition, devoted her time to the Canadian National Track and Field team, winning a gold medal at the North America, Central America, and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) where she threw a personal best of 67.20 m in the hammer throw.

Billy McCarroll (Professor Emeritus), on bass, and Dale Ketcheson (Music), on guitar, perform at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) at a Happy Hour performance sponsored by the Lethbridge Jazz Society on Apr. 15 from 5-8 p.m. McCarroll's artwork is presently on display at SAAG.

Jazlyn Dow (BFA '10) has just been accepted into the Master of Arts in Visual Culture: Costume Studies program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

International Management students Kayley Fulton and Aamna Zia have each been awarded a $3,000 Export Development Canada (EDC) International Business Scholarship. Fulton completed a work exchange in Spain in 2010 while Zia, an Edmonton Campus student, is currently on work exchange in France.

Darcy Best (Mathematics and Computer Science) bettered his score from last year to set a new school record for his performance in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition. Best joined nearly 4,296 North American students in a six-hour, 12-problem contest, earning an overall ranking score of 527.5, leaving him one point out of the top 500.

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Aamna Zia

Business plans earn support

Related Topics

Campus Kudos - April

Related Topics