On March 30, 2023, the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab hosted its annual March Idea Challenge for student organizations across all WVU campuses. Seven student organizations from WVU and one student organization from WVU Tech had five minutes to pitch and five minutes to answer questions from a panel of professional judges, in order to win up to $5000 for their student organization.
This competition serves as an opportunity for students to create solutions to organizational issues that they would like to address. The judges' panel consisted of five business professionals from WVU– Tara St. Clair, Dr. T. Anne Hawkins, Carrie Showalter, Sabrina M. Cave, and G. Corey Farris. Throughout the competition, the judges provided insightful feedback and questions for the organizations as they delivered their propositions.
The eight participants included:
The WVU Entrepreneurship Club, an organization focusing on aiding students in their entrepreneurial skills, intended to create an annual pitch competition through the LaunchLab that would award students for their business desires.
Sigma Phi Delta Engineering Fraternity Beta Xi chapter, a WVU sector of a professional and social fraternity for engineering students, ideated a middle school STEM day to peak middle school students’ interests in the STEM field.
The Outdoor Adventure Club, a club dedicated to bettering students’ mental and physical wellness by exploring the outdoors, requested financial assistance for more advertising tactics.
The Asian Association, a student organization created to promote a safe social setting for Asian Americans on campus, requested funding to create events including a cultural fair to promote diversity and acceptance on campus.
The WVU Tech Entrepreneurship Club, a club at WVU Tech focusing on entrepreneurial skills at the WVU Tech campus, pitched to earn funding to create a cultural lounge on campus.
The Collegiate Gaming Club, a large club encouraging social connections for gamers on campus, wanted to create various LAN parties/events on campus to draw in members.
The Climbing Club, an organization aiding in teaching students how to rock climb both indoors and outdoors, requested aid for more inclusively sized climbing equipment.
The Self Love Club, a combination of organizations for bettering campus-wide mental health, aimed to create a spring festival to help students ease their stress during finals week.
Four student organizations were awarded primary funding. The WVU Tech Entrepreneurship Club was awarded $2000 to start forming their cultural lounge. The Asian association was awarded $1230 to begin their events. The Outdoor Adventure Club received $900 for advertising. Finally, the WVU Climbing Club won $870 towards new equipment. The popular vote prized the WVU Entrepreneurship Club with $250.