Author: Emily

Happy 5th Birthday, Hurt Hub!

Post author By Emily
Post date June 27, 2023
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The Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College Launch Party

In light of this half-a-decade milestone, we wanted to talk to a few of our biggest supporters: Ed Van Deman ’69, Jay Hurt ‘88, and Liz Brigham ‘04, our W. Spencer Mitchem Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Hurt Hub, to reflect upon the evolution of the Hurt Hub over the last five years. And after sitting down to talk with them, it’s clear that the Hurt Hub is well on its way to redefining Liberal Arts education in the 21st century.

Ed Van Deman graduated from Davidson in 1969, and didn’t step foot back in Davidson for 45 years. Though he was away, Ed said “I never stopped thinking about Davidson.” As an economics major, Ed felt that there was never a space for economics majors to gather, compared to the labs for chemistry majors or the library for humanities majors. However, when President Carol Quillen’s idea for a space encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship near Davidson’s campus came about, it all changed. Ed thought, “This is an opportunity to redefine Liberal Arts education in the 21st century. We can’t live in the 19th and 20th century – Davidson’s got to do this.”

“There’s Leadership and Service but it doesn’t just happen. Davidson clearly knows how to take young people and help them develop themselves in their careers, but bringing new ideas and combining all of those things and pursuing missions and making the world a better place – that’s liberal arts and that’s leadership and service.”

Lily Korir ’23, the winner of this year’s Nisbet Venture Fund Pitch Competition

The Hurt Hub Innovation Week Spotlight on Students

Jay Hurt pointed out how our building, converted from an old-textile mill into a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, is really the perfect symbol for not only how North Carolina is changing, but how Davidson’s focus on technology is changing. Looking back, he is in awe at the past five years and the ways he has seen the Hurt Hub change Davidson’s campus for the better. There’s no entrepreneurship without innovation and in Jay’s words, “innovation is identifying a problem and finding a way to make it better.” Encouraging our students and coworkers to use innovation to fuel entrepreneurship is just the tip of the iceberg for us at the Hurt Hub.

Liz Brigham ’04, W. Spencer Mitchem Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Similar to Ed, Liz Brigham returned to her alma mater in 2020, saying that it was like she “never really left.” Focusing on its purpose, Liz remarked on how the Hurt Hub’s mission has remained unchanged in its vision and goals. Since its launch in 2018, the Hurt Hub has vowed to unite the Davidson College campus and community, while simultaneously providing opportunities to catalyze solutions for critical problems.

When Liz began, at the height of the pandemic, she and the Hurt Hub team were able to refine the Hurt Hub’s values of freedom, integrity, and inclusion. During this time, Liz and the team conducted over 150 interviews with a variety of faculty, students, and coworking members in order to gain increased insight into the Hurt Hub’s audience and their needs, as well as how to more effectively serve them. Through this, the Hurt Hub birthed its core of developing “access and exposure to innovation and entrepreneurship for all,” dismantling actual or perceived barriers to the Hurt Hub’s endless opportunities, such as mentorship, access to capital, and educational programming.

The Hurt Hub Innovation Week Spotlight on Students

Both Ed and Jay are focused on what’s in store for the Hurt Hub. For Jay, these are things he calls BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. From expanding the Hurt Hub’s physical space, to completely honing in on creating and funding functional and profitable businesses at a level of intensity yet to be seen on a college campus. “We’re not exactly there yet – but the way we get there is to have quality programming with excellent staff and mentors, and I think we’re doing that right now.”

I concluded my interview with Liz by asking her one final question: what is one thing you wish more people knew about the Hurt Hub? Liz offered two excellent answers – first, are the bountiful opportunities open to Davidson students, namely the Try-It fund, which grants Davidson students the ability to follow their passions through an original idea or concept. These funds allow students the ability to learn the inner workings of the design process. The second element she touched upon is working as a Gig-Hub Consultant. These “gigs” offer students a real-world and paid experience with coworkers at the Hurt Hub and startups all over the world. “Maybe you don’t have the idea burning in the back of your brain quite yet, but come and experience the buffet of options.” Davidson students have the chance to expose themselves to all different types of businesses, while also gaining skills and mentors. These golden opportunities allow for a plethora of growth and innovation, unique to the Hurt Hub community.

These past few years have been full of highs and we can’t wait to see what comes from the next 5,10, and 50 years of life at the Hurt Hub@Davidson.

We hope that learning more about our journey inspires you to get involved and consider making a gift that directly supports economic mobility and development in our community. Thank you, and we look forward to continuing to have fun making the impossible possible with you!

Photos courtesy of Davidson College, Davidson Photo Shelter, and Chris Record.

Co-Working

Winner, Winner!

David Hedges is a local entrepreneur with two businesses: Bookman Bright Consulting and Bookman Bright Retirement Planning and Capital Management. In simple terms, David manages money primarily for business owners and people “at a stage called almost-retirement or retirement,” in his words. A problem solver at heart, David helps people juggle the moving parts of retirement planning, risk management, and much more.

Since David’s business deals with personal and confidential material, an open, coworking space like the Hurt Hub might not seem conducive to his workplace needs, but our coworking space is still proved useful to David’s business. When David was looking for a space to hold an educational event on financial services he turned to the Hurt Hub, since his own office is just right across the street. After hosting one successful event (where the only glitch was that there were more attendees than anticipated), David made a note to himself that the Hurt Hub would be his go-to place for anymore public events.

After having hosted an event and becoming more known in the Hurt Hub community, when the Hurt Hub was looking for local business owners to offer advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs, David volunteered. On account of helping out, David was entered into The Project Town Raffle. The raffle included a 6-month ‘Flex Space’ membership at the Hurt Hub, 8 hours of use for an Event Space rental, and up to 15 hours of Innovation Consulting services with Evan Rozantes and Beth Adams.

This raffle was offered by the Hurt Hub after receiving a grant from the Town of Davidson to specifically encourage local business owners and entrepreneurs to continue working for the good of the local community. David plans to use his new resources to host more educational events for the community, as well as expand his network, using the Hurt Hub’s points of contact.

Congratulations, David! We can’t wait to see what you will do!

Access to Capital

A Night to Remember: The Nisbet Venture Fund Pitch Competition

Post author By Emily
Post date April 24, 2023
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On Wednesday, April 19th at 6:00 pm, eleven teams of young entrepreneurs gathered in the C. Shaw Smith 900 Room for The Hurt Hub@Davidson’s ninth annual Nisbet Venture Fund Pitch Competition. A few things to know:

Six of the teams competed in the Incubation Track, each presenting two-minute pitches to advocate for their ventures. These ventures are earlier in the process of development, and many teams have received the Try-It Fund to get their ventures off the ground. The Incubation Track winner receives $2,500.
The other five teams competed on the Acceleration Track, presenting five-minute pitches with three minutes of Q&A from our esteemed panel of judges, Mbye Njie ’04, Ashley Gautreaux, and Jay Hurt ’88. These ventures are further along in their development and many have already become financially viable. The Acceleration Track winner receives $25,000 and pro-bono legal services from The McIntosh Law Firm.
The third award of the night was our Audience Choice Award. The week leading up to the competition, an open-voting forum allowed anyone to vote up to once a day for their favorite venture. The Audience Choice award winner receives $5,000.

This night was filled with the true spirit of entrepreneurship. From our W. Spencer Mitchem Director of the Hurt Hub, Liz Brigham ‘04, opening up the night, to the wonderful emcee and Innovator in Residence, Donna Peters ‘89, the genuine interest and investment in young entrepreneurs was especially evident at the Nisbet Venture Fund Pitch Competition.

The range of ventures might be one of the most impressive aspects of this competition. Here are a few quotes from the night to give you a sense of just the kind of range we’re talking about:

“I know my chickens!”
“Rotate People’s Lives with Motate.”
“You won’t be able to die of boredom, but you’ll be able to use it to your advantage .”
“That beard comes with a lot of wisdom.”

From ventures looking to expand creativity and inspiration in children, to helping college and high school students in their career searches, to fully downloadable and original party planning material – creativity and innovative spirit are not lacking at Davidson.

The entire event and night would not be possible without our 2023 sponsors Marian Nisbet and Chip Nisbet ’86, and The McIntosh Law Firm. Chip Nisbet spoke to the crowd before announcing the winners and emphasized the love his family holds for Davidson College and how this competition has flourished in its nine years. We are so grateful for your support!

And now for our winners:

The Farm won the Audience Choice award, receiving the most votes over the week leading up to the competition. Founder Odysseas Koufos ‘25 received $5,000 to go towards his venture of renting chicken coops to families to incentivize reconnecting with our roots and view farming as an easy and domestic activity.

Modern Myths won for the Incubation Track, receiving $2,500 to encourage and inspire creativity and imagination in children. Founder Chloe Boissy Stauffer ‘24 will use her winnings to design unique and whimsical children’s books, toys, and accessories to reinvigorate childhood imagination.

And our biggest prize of the night, KK Dairy Solutions won the Accelerator Track receiving $25,000 and pro-bono legal advice from The McIntosh Law Firm. Founder, Lily Korir ‘23, is revolutionizing small-scale dairy farming in Kenya. Korir has received both the Try-It Fund and the Avinger Impact Fund for KK Dairy Solutions. With family in Kenya who are small-scale dairy farmers, Korir’s personal connection to the issues her venture is working to solve made her pitch succinct, impassioned, and clear, earning her the night’s top prize.

The Hurt Hub@Davidson College is proud of all the competing teams and sends a special thanks to everyone who made this night possible, from our sponsors, mentors, to the Hurt Hub staff, to Rebecca Weeks Watson, our judges, participants and RYGID AV.

Be sure to keep an eye on all these ventures, we know they’re headed to big things!

Watch the live event recording here.

Photos were taken by D’Mycal Foreman ’25

Student

Do You Know Louis?

Emily Schmit: Hi Louis, I was wondering if you could tell me about your work at the Hurt Hub – what you do there you, and how you’re kind of a face of the Hurt Hub for some people. Do you have any comment on that as well?

Louis Onoratini: I think first and foremost I’m a Community and Events Ambassador at the Hurt Hub. I have been doing that for almost two years now. It’s been super fun and really just a great time to help students and the people from around the Davidson community get to know the Hurt Hub and use it as the resource that it is.

I don’t know if I would describe myself as the face of the Hurt Hub, but it’s a great place where I think a lot of people can grow themselves and grow their network. I think a lot of people don’t think about that. I’m not a stem guy. I’m not a computer science guy. I’m a Political Science major, and I’ve still used that space to my benefit, so anyone can do it.

ES: Yes. I think a lot of students think about the Hurt Hub as a place for only Econ majors or something like that, but you’re a Political Science major. What else have you done on campus in your four years here?

LO: I’m a Chidsey Leadership Fellow. I was also the president of Amnesty for my first two years here at Davidson, and I play on the club soccer team.

ES: So the big question, you’re a senior, do you know what’s up next for you?

LO: I’m very grateful to say that I was admitted into Georgetown for next year, and I’ll be studying international affairs with a focus on European studies and European relations.

ES: Wow, that’s huge! Do you think have you made any connections through the Hurt Hub that you can see helping you in your career as you move forward, or that helped you to get where you are now?

LO: Yes. I mean all the people I have worked with here, especially Liz, Kara, Erin, and Zee. Actually in my first year, Zee came into the student project room I was studying in at Hurt Hub and said “I heard you were looking for a job.” I said “yes”, and she said “well send me your resume!”

Also, Liz read over my statement of purpose for Georgetown.

These are people that have kind of made me the person I am because I spent a lot of time with them. I spent winter break and last summer break working at the Hurt Hub.

ES: So you were just in the Hurt Hub and got a job by sending in your resume?

LO: Yes, it was pretty crazy. I also had to go through an interview process.

It was cool to work with them and I got to know them a lot more through that time. You know, if you step out of your bubble for just a second, and see the people that make Davidson what it is, you will meet a lot of super interesting people to talk to.

ES: Anything else you’d like to say or leave with our readers?

LO: I think the most important thing is, we have so many resources here at Davidson, and at times we think, I’ll take advantage of them tomorrow. Then, tomorrow comes at you pretty fast. So, I would just say take a walk around the Hurt Hub, even if it is just to study for an hour, and I’m sure you’ll meet someone or see a resource on the screen that you’ll be interested in taking advantage of!

Co-Working

Tim Dreffer

Tim Dreffer describes himself as “always having this sort of entrepreneurial thing” going on. When I asked him to explain what he meant by that, he took me through his career path. First to Frito Lays, establishing a new manufacturing plant, then to Toyota when the company was just starting to manufacture the Camry, and then Dreffer moved to establish a new division of JB Hunt. The thing about all these jobs, he explained, is that he was still getting a paycheck about every two weeks. The fear of not having a reliable income is scary, but it’s a risk Dreffer was willing to take based on four other measures of wealth he had taken to heart:

Time
- Are you in control of your own time or is someone telling you where you need to be and when? Do you have the ability to attend your kids’ dance recital or coach their baseball team?
Location
- Do you like to travel and does work allow you to? Do you want to be in one spot or establish roots and stick with them?
Mental Health
- Where’s your head? Are you emotionally available for your loved ones or does work take you out of that head space?
Reciprocity
- Are you able to give back to your community? To those around you?

It’s these four kinds of wealth that Dreffer felt like he was lacking when he was working for others. After establishing his own company, Dreffr Consulting, he was able to fill these four buckets more than he ever had before.

With his current company, EDGE Supply Chain, Dreffer is one of three co-founders. EDGE is a logistic and supply chain company, focusing on maximizing customer experience and efficiency for their clients. Their catch phrase? “I know a guy.” Dreffer and his partners are building a network of trusted individuals with different skill sets to be able to help their clients in any way they may need.

Dreffer first became a co-worker with the Hurt Hub@Davidson in 2020, ironically looking for a way to get out of the house after having worked from home for a little while. When he first started coming in, everyone was wearing masks and there were few people around, and Dreffer felt that lack of community. Now that we’re back to more “normal” Hurt Hub functioning, Dreffer isn’t shy about using the community resources. He attends workshops and classes, where he actually first connected with Meg Seitz with tothshop, who developed the branding and title for EDGE. EDGE’s new website was also built by Matt Cuddy with thirdcupcreative and former intern at the Hurt Hub. “You’ll get out of it what you put into it,” Dreffer says. He also is a partner with LaunchCLT.

We wrapped up our conversation with a few pieces of advice for Davidson students:

Always have some sort of North Star to come back to. Whether that’s a career goal or a personal goal.
If you don’t aim for the target, you won’t hit it.
Now is the time to start developing your network. Whether it’s through LinkedIn or crossing the street and coming over to the Hurt Hub, or participating in workshops and talks; these opportunities will allow you to meet people you might need later on down the road.
Participate don’t anticipate. Don’t tie yourself in knots and anticipate things you can’t control.

Article Education Gig-Hub Student Testimonial Try It Fund

D’Mycal Foreman & Gig-Hub Consulting

Post author By Emily
Post date March 6, 2023
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D’Mycal Foreman is a sophomore, Theatre major at Davidson College and a Gig-Hub consultant with the Hurt Hub.

The Gig-Hub program offers Davidson students the opportunity to engage in paid short-term real-world projects with a diverse range of clients. This project-based work, a gig, lets you, the client, complete a new or ongoing project while allowing students to expand their skill sets.

“Clients work with you to make sure you get the experience you want and need during the time you are with them.”

D’Mycal works as a social media assistant with Benco, a film production company created by Davidson graduate, Ben Allison ’11. Having the opportunity to create content, post reels, and learn more about social media with a film production company has provided him a direct experience in an industry and career he would like to pursue.

Davidson students are extremely eager to gain hands-on experience, and D’Mycal is direct evidence of that. Through his experience as a Gig-Hub consultant he now has marketable transferable skills to showcase to future employers.

“Being a Gig-Hub Consultant gives you the opportunity to determine through experiential learning if the career path you are choosing is the right one.”

For students, D’Mycal cannot recommend the Gig-Hub program enough. As someone interested in pursuing a career in the film industry, D’Mycal is getting the experience necessary for him to expand his skills, including working as a production assistant and learning how to use the newest software to fulfill his dream of becoming a Film Director.

If you are looking for a gig or a student consultant in a certain career field, gigs and client opportunities are available. Click the links below to learn more.

For Students

For Clients

Alum Co-Working Startup

Ben Allison & Benco Productions

Post author By Emily
Post date February 21, 2023
No Comments on Ben Allison & Benco Productions

Last week, I sat down with Ben Allison who graduated from Davidson in 2011 after being recruited by Coach Bob McKillop to play basketball from 2007 – 2011. Allison is originally from the UK and completed one year of University before coming to Davidson. Allison and I talked about how his Davidson education has influenced him today, what he does on a daily basis with his film company Benco Productions, and what it’s like doing his line of work in a space like the Hurt Hub.

What was life like before Benco?

Ben worked in advertising right after his graduation in 2011 with the American City Business Journal’s digital revenue team, helping sales reps around the country sell advertisements against online content. “Advertising in general has a lot of ties to persuasion,” Allison says, which links into his major. Sitting behind a desk wasn’t necessarily right up Allison’s alley, so he left the US and headed to Spain and the UK to play professional basketball for a few years. From there, Allison worked in London with a headhunting firm in the financial services, marketing, and business development teams. So far, Allison has been pretty separate from the world of advertising, until he started to work for a film company in London. With so many different platforms, tools, and creative styles, Allison was closer than ever before to the creative side of advertising and marketing. This lead him to being on sets and shoots, learning what it takes to create the videos, with sound, production, direction, etc. This experience allowed Allison to hone his skills as a producer and fostered a true passion and interest in video advertising.

All About Benco

“Our mission is to inspire and empower people to find a voice for their own creativity. We hold space, valuing all ideas while encouraging our team of creators to produce imaginative, trend-setting work for clients globally.”

Benco Productions is a video production company specializing in video production and advertising. Benco has three main areas of work:

Working with clients on pre-production work, brainstorming, storyboarding, and working on the client’s brand.
Production involves working on the actual filmmaking process, hiring a crew, actors, directors, and more.
Finally, Benco works on the post-production end with editing, sound design, color variation, and anything else a client may need or want.

One of the most significant aspects of Benco is its flexibility in working with clients. From big New York agencies to more local Charlotte businesses, Allison is able to mold and shift Benco’s services based on what his clients need. This means pretty much anything is possible with Benco, as long as the funds are there.

What is Allison’s role in the company?

Right now, Allison’s role acts as a producer – brainstorming ideas, contracting positions, managing ideas, etc. Allison hires contracted positions for shooting days and post-production work to be able to produce the final deliverable, which can be a 30-second video advertisement to 10 spotlight videos.

How did you acquire these skills?

“That’s a tough question because, for some people, it makes sense to go to grad school or pursue higher education after Davidson,” says Allison, “but I’m a learning-by-doing person.” Allison’s six years of experience before Benco allowed him to really observe what worked and didn’t work in the marketing and advertising field. From watching how different teams work together, observing a corporate office, watching time-management skills, and just really seeing how things are done. As for the technical skills: cinematography, operating a camera, setting up lighting, that’s something that can’t be taught in a normal classroom – maybe film school, but according to Allison, these skills are best fostered on the job and jumping straight in.

How does the Hurt Hub factor into your business model?

Benco has been at the Hurt Hub for almost a year now and up until now, Benco has technically been freelance. Allison is looking to bring in a team, full-time and part-time, to have them in-house instead of contracting the same people week in and week out. Being able to host a team in this space and have a central location will be essential to Benco’s function.

“I go to most of the events here and the happy hours. And I hear the word networking and it’s not about networking or forcibly meeting people or doing business, but it really is just hanging out. And that has developed into working relationships with other companies here. Just developing real relationships and connections with these people and then seeing if it makes sense to work together.”

The Hurt Hub serves many functions in Allison’s work life. First, just having a space where he can interact with others or grab a coffee, makes independent work feel more communal. Second, the physical space of the Hurt Hub is “just beautiful,” says Allison. From secluded corners to really get stuff done to bright windows, the variety of workspace is ideal. Finally, using the Hurt Hub as a meeting space for clients that is affordable and communal is huge for client-facing meetings.

We worked with Benco Productions to create our first official video advertisement. Check it out here!

Final Advice

“For anyone’s college experience, the college has a million different things to offer. Whether it’s a different society whether it’s a fraternity. Whatever it is you’re passionate about, do it 100% and really capitalize on what they have to offer. And that doesn’t necessarily have to be academics – if it’s the film society and you see a future in it, do it 100%.”

Try It Fund

Sabria Jackson & Belle Mckissick Staley – Try-it Fund Winners

Post author By Emily
Post date February 13, 2023
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The Try It Fund is a grant competition that awards Davidson students with up to $1,000 to pursue a creative or innovative idea. We fund for-profit ventures, so your project must make money by selling a product, idea, or service. We realize you are going to make mistakes when attempting something you’ve never done before. Failure is part of the creative process, and we want you to take risks, try new ideas, learn how to quickly recognize what doesn’t work and pivot onto something that does.

Sabria Jackson — The Kundalini Crystal Shop

Sabria Jackson is a senior a double psychology and africana studies major. As a recipient of a Try-It fund grant, Sabria is funding her crystal shop that sells hand-crafted copper wire-wrapped crystal jewelry pieces. Crystals are known for their healing powers, but can sometimes feel inaccessible to those who don’t know a lot about crystal practices. Sabria’s shop is for those well-versed in crystals and those interested in learning more, and the pieces are “only made with love, but are also saturated with good intentions,” says Jackson.

Jackson took time during quarantine to learn about crystals and jewelry making. She experimented with creating her own pieces, which are mostly inspired my natural colors and qualities. Her wire-wrapping techniques have transformed as she becomes more experienced in jewelry making.

If you’re interested in purchasing crystals or connecting with Sabria, check out her Etsy and her Instagram.

Belle Mckissick Staley — Jeffery and Belle Bread Co.

Belle Mckissick Staley is a first year at Davidson and while her majors might be a little hazy, her entrepreneurial spirit is clear. Mckissick Staley is interested in double majoring in Chemistry and Studio, which she describes as a “perfect leeway combo into pastry school.” Which is where her entrepreneurial passions lie.

Mckissick Staley has an innovative idea – bread on wheels! As a sourdough bread maker, Mckissick Staley wants to have a portable method for selling bread, birthday cakes, and seasonal baked goods. Currently, Mckissick Staley has a sourdough starter she has named ‘Jeffrey.’ The starter has “enabled me to understand so many ideas, beliefs, and people around me.”

The Try-It fund is helping Mckissick Staley expand and practice her craft. As a first-year living on campus, finding an oven can be tricky, but Mckissick Staley has contacted a local restaurant that has agreed to let her use their bread oven. She hopes to start a weekly bread subscription and begin to document her and Jeffrey’s journey. Interested in following along? Follow Jeffery and Belle Bread Co. on Instagram.

Student

Heidi Meyer Does It All

About Heidi Meyer

Heidi Meyer (she/her/hers) is a Senior psychology major and is heavily involved in the Davidson College community. Apart from her impressive pre-professional expertise, Meyer is a part of Student Government, is a member of the Activities Tax Council, participates in debate and discussion on Davidson’s campus as a Deliberative Citizen’s Initiative fellow, nannies on the side, and is now starting a new position as a Gig-Hub consultant working with the director of the Hurt Hub@Davidson, Elizabeth Brigham.

Though Meyer is just starting her official time working with the Hurt Hub, she’s been a familiar name around our space for much longer. Like most seniors, Meyer is focused on her future, but she says post-grad job anxiety actually started when she was a sophomore. Meyer realized her sophomore year that there was a gap in the research she was looking for when thinking about her path after Davidson, but the summer before her senior year she had a second realization: “I can do something about this.” It was this idea that launched her into the world of podcasting.

Meyer first launched her podcast, “Careers Explained” the summer before her senior year without any funding. Bringing on guests in all kinds of career paths, Meyer aims to help people her age, who might also be stressed about post-grad plans. Later on in her process, Meyer received funding from the Try-It fund and the Avinger Impact Fund to continue growing her endeavors.

This past Thursday, I sat down with Meyer and she’s just as impressive in person as she is on paper. Meyer carries herself with contagious joy and that was evident throughout my whole conversation with her. She smiled the entire interview and after we wrapped up questions about her, she sat with me for another twenty minutes to get to know me. Hearing her goals and story make me want to call as many Davidson people as I can, just to make connections.

“What I’ve learned is that there are a million jobs out there and maybe this is idealistic, but I believe that everyone can find something they love and that no one should settle. I think there are so many roles – keep looking and keep trying if you’re unsure because I want everyone to do something that makes them happy.”

The Process

The process begins, in Meyer’s words, “with a lot of LinkedIn DMing and sleuthing.” Based on student interests, sometimes generated from frequent meetings with the Matthews Career Center, Meyer reaches out via personal connection or LinkedIn to request interviews with prospective podcast guests. With a ten percent response rate, Meyer has to have thick skin when it comes to requests. Reaching out to both Davidson connections and professionals who fit student requests, Meyer preps for an interview and then the two hop on Zoom to record the interview. Usually, Meyer edits the interview on her own on Anchor, posts it on social media, and the podcast is ready!

What’s Next

Using the Avinger Impact Fund Grant, Meyer is expanding. Using the Avinger Grant, Meyer has built a Careers Explained website and is looking into hiring graphic designers and social media planners to grow her brand. Meyer is also engaging with the Davidson community by planning on incorporating Jesse Doyle, a Davidson volleyball player, as the new face and voice of Careers Explained. Meyer also plans on incorporating video into her productions and researching the best methods for reaching the most amount of people. You can listen to Meyer’s podcast here and find a career path that fits you best, with help and advice from a fellow Davidson student.

Jay Hurt Hub

for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
at Davidson College

Jay Hurt Hub

for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
at Davidson College

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