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�鶹��Ʒ's School of Business hosted its 6th Annual Student-Preneur Conference on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, marking a milestone year with unprecedented student participation across all three campuses (Westchester, Bronx and Manhattan). The Beba Foundation of Innovation & Entrepreneurship sponsored the event. Their ongoing support of �鶹��Ʒ, along with their invaluable contributions to both the competition and the School of Business throughout the years, is deeply appreciated.

The day was filled with inspiration, innovation and celebration of students' achievement, as future entrepreneurs showcased their business acumen through the Business Plan Competition Finale.

The event started with encouraging words from the dean of the School of Business. Victor Petenkemani reminded students that today's business giants all started with a simple dream.

“Being an entrepreneur, you are thinking about Bill Gates, you're thinking about Steve Jobs. But they started where you are, with a dream, right? With a dream, with an idea and they pursued their dream and were successful,” Petenkemani said. He shared his three core values for entrepreneurial success with the students: “Communication, people first and ethical leadership. If you think about those three, core, fundamental skillsets, I can guarantee, you will be successful.”

�鶹��Ʒ President Susan L. Parish, Ph.D., M.S.W. highlighted the broader impact of student entrepreneurship: “I think this is a terribly important moment for you to think like entrepreneurs. We need your leadership, creativity and great ideas as students to help solve some of the challenges that our country faces.”

Dr. Kristin Curry Greenwood, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, celebrated the spirit of the competition: “Healthy competition helps us all get better, and cooperative competition is a really good thing. There's a spirit here of wanting everybody to thrive and learn.”

Record-Breaking Growth

The Student-Preneur Conference has experienced remarkable growth, from just 10 student presenters and two dozen attendees in 2022 to this year's impressive 49 student presenters and more than 250 attendees. It featured a record of 23 teams comprising 49 students from diverse academic backgrounds, demonstrating the university's commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit across disciplines.

For the first time, the conference welcomed participants from all three Mercy campuses, spanning undergraduate and graduate programs. The competition has drawn participants from across Mercy's academic landscape, bringing together students from the most diverse mixture of curricula, including education, legal studies, sport management, liberal arts, criminal justice and computer science, and the Schools of Health & Natural Science, Business and Social & Behavioral Sciences.

The event also doubled its high school engagement, welcoming students from Lincoln High School's Academy of Finance in Yonkers and Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.

Drilon Gojani, Academy of Finance professor at Lincoln High School, emphasized the value for his students: “This event is a great precursor to what our students will be doing next year. Our senior class has a business grant contest they compete in at the high school level, and our students come here and watch it first-hand. Overall, it's an amazing experience.”

For students like Margaret Ennin, a junior from Lincoln High School, the event offered a glimpse into their future potential: “The aspects of entrepreneurship that excite me the most consist of the analytical skills that come from entrepreneurship, being able to problem solve and be quick on your feet so that you can build a business that helps your community or even global society as a whole.”

Mercy Alumni Return to Inspire

The event featured two distinguished Mercy alumni who returned to share their expertise and inspire current students. 

�鶹��Ʒ Board of Trustees Member Phillip Grant, M.B.A. ’08, delivered the keynote address. Now executive vice president and chief operating officer at Armand Corporation, Grant has over 20 years of experience in economic development, engineering, and public infrastructure. Grant encouraged students to think beyond limitations: “One of the key points I want to make here is, do not limit yourself. Dream bigger than this universe. That's your goal: dream bigger than this universe.”

He credited his Mercy education with broadening his perspective: “Mercy helped me think bigger, not just how to build things but how to lead people, manage capital, balance risk, and move teams toward something greater than the sum of our job descriptions.”

When asked how Mercy fostered his entrepreneurial spirit, Grant explained: “Once I got my Mercy degree in 2008, it gave me the confidence to go in and renegotiate my salary. I've been using those tips and tools throughout my career.” He continued, “It gave me a breadth of experience, from smart classmates and outstanding teachers, but also the tools to add to my engineering degree to go out and advocate and understand business."

Andrew Boryk ’17 led the Mercy Entrepreneurial Alliance Panel. A multi-time startup founder recognized as one of Forbes Magazine’s "30 Under 30" in 2022, Boryk shared how Mercy supported his entrepreneurial journey even when it didn't follow a conventional path.

“When I was here, I had lots of Mercy support, and I always appreciated how flexible I could make my schedule. I moved all my classes online, on weekends, and at night. So, for my last two years, I wasn't on campus. But Mercy supported me through all of that,” Boryk said, explaining how this flexibility allowed him to earn his degree while launching his startup. He needed to stay in school, despite the lure of dropping out and focusing solely on his startup, which so many had done.   

“But I’m only the second person in my whole family to go to college, so I was in this till the end, and I wasn’t going to go and squander this opportunity; I’m going to finish my degree.” Boryk continued, “I knew that if I waited, I would be years behind where I could have been. So, Mercy was supportive.” 

Student Innovation on Display

The event's highlight was the Business Plan Competition Finale, where five finalist teams presented their business concepts to a panel of expert judges.

The five finalist teams were:

1. Brew'd-Vita

• Lesly Lopez
• Jahayra Maldonado
• Daisy Arevalo
• Kimberly Morocho

2. Court Connections

• Zein Wahdan
• Max Mitchell
• Frederick Schildwachter

3. JC Performance Training

• Juan Campillo Casas

4. TNHair LLC

• Trinity Nero-Hill

5. PRYSM

• Mason Gifford
• Ricardo Marin
• Sophia Resolme

Team PRYSM showcased their concept for an all-in-one rewards loyalty hub for small businesses affected by California wildfires. Sophia Resolme, Marketing '26, explained: “We came up with PRYSM, which is essentially an all-in-one rewards loyalty hub. It kind of mocks the Starbucks app, where a user can go in and buy their drinks and save up their rewards, but it's targeted only toward local and smaller businesses.”

Court Connections presented their two-pronged business, focused on recruiting basketball players from the Middle East and North Africa to U.S. prep schools and colleges and hosting exposure camps. Max Mitchell, pursuing his MBA, explained what winning the competition would mean for their business: “I think it'll bring a lot of awareness to our business, a lot of good publicity and the money for the reward earnings will go toward the inventory and help with the basketball camps. It would be very beneficial for us in our steps forward in business.”

JC Performance Training, founded by Juan Campillo Casas, focuses on elite soccer training. Reflecting on his Mercy experience, Casas said: “My experience as a student-athlete at Mercy has been foundational. Competing while managing academics and running a business taught me resilience, time management and leadership. Mercy has also offered invaluable opportunities — like the Student-Preneur competition — that have helped me refine my business model, build confidence, and grow my network.”

Celebrating Success

After impressive presentations from all teams, Court Connections emerged as the winner. This October, they will represent �鶹��Ʒ at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization's 42nd Annual Global Conference and Pitch Competition in Tampa, Florida.

From left to right:  Frederick Schildwachter, Zein Wahdan and Max Mitchell.

Frederick Schildwachter '27 of Court Connections emphasized the importance of such events: “I think Mercy throwing these much larger-scale events is great. It really gives the opportunity for people like me and my team to achieve greatness and kind of come out of our shells and do something we might not have been used to before”

His teammate Zein Wahdan, Marketing ’26, added: “We're incredibly excited and honored to represent �鶹��Ʒ at the upcoming competition in Tampa. It's a huge opportunity, and we're already planning how to elevate our pitch, refine our strategy and build on the feedback we received. Our team is motivated to continue improving and make Mercy proud on a larger stage.”

Wahdan acknowledged their crucial support: "Looking back, �鶹��Ʒ's support has been invaluable, especially from the School of Business and our faculty mentors. 

In particular, we're incredibly grateful to Professor Bohn, who has gone above and beyond to support our journey. Without his guidance, encouragement, and belief in our project, I wouldn't have attended the business competition. He's played a key role in helping us grow both personally and professionally.”

Brew'd-Vita took second place. Team member Lesly Lopez expressed her delight: “It's very exciting, especially since this is our first time doing it this year and since it's my last year at Mercy. It's exciting to be part of this and experience and learn from it. I got to meet the team behind this whole business competition. I encourage people to do it.”

From left to right: Daisy Arevalo, Lesly Lopez, Kimberly Morocho and Jahayra Maldonado.

The Power of Entrepreneurial Education

The Student-Preneur Conference exemplifies �鶹��Ʒ's commitment to preparing students for real-world success through hands-on, collaborative experiences.

Professor Robert F. Bohn, who led the conference, emphasized the event's practical value: “What the students are getting is the value of entrepreneurship, working as a team, working across majors. We have business working with nursing, science working with sports and the Bronx Campus working with Manhattan. So, it's just a question of teamwork and preparing them for the real world. You have to understand that we teach real-world here, and this is a perfect example.”

Bohn was optimistic when asked about the event's future: “It will only go up. For the first time, we have undergraduate and graduate students, all three campuses, 49 students, and diversification—we're committed to growing more and more.”

Dean Petenkemani expressed heartfelt appreciation for the individuals who made the Student-Preneur Competition a success.

“On behalf of the School of Business, we sincerely thank Umran Beba, Korhan Beba, Elena Rivera-Cheek, Phillip Grant, Andrew Boryk and Tereva Bundy for serving as judges for the Student-Preneur Competition. Their expertise, thoughtful feedback and support were invaluable to competitors and the event's success,” said Dean Petenkemani. “We sincerely appreciate the time and care they dedicated to evaluating each project and providing meaningful insights to our entrepreneurs. Their contribution helped make the competition a rewarding experience for everyone involved.”

He concluded by recognizing the internal efforts that helped bring the event to life: “Last but not least, I want to thank the SBUS faculty and staff for their hard work, dedication, and passion you have shown in making our Entrepreneur Competition a resounding success. Their attention to detail and teamwork brought this event to life and inspired all participants. I am genuinely grateful for the energy and professionalism they brought to every step of the process. This success would not have been possible without their efforts, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together.”