On Thursday, February 11th, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute held the semester’s first workshop session at the Coburn Hall, Room 255! The focus for Workshop 1 was on identifying problems. Around 15 students attended to learn and network with students interested in pursuing their ideas for the $50,000 Idea Challenge.

To start off, Richard Juknavorian, Rist DifferenceMaker Director, welcomed everyone. He provided a brief overview of the DifferenceMaker program, what to expect from the workshop series, and the agenda for the evening. He introduced the Faculty Fellows guest presenter: Professor Tom Wilkes, Kennedy College of Sciences. Joining them, Faculty Fellows John Palma and Cathy Levy were also present to offer guidance, helping students refine and develop their ideas throughout the session.

Firstly, Professor Wilkes showcased examples of problems presented by past DifferenceMaker student teams. Videos of their pitches were provided to give students clarity on how to move forward. For example, a team that was highlighted was the CAT Mat pitch, presented by students Katie Muise and Michelle Mailloux, both from the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences. The problem they identified is the inability of patients to practice relearning how to walk after experiencing a medical issue. Going outside to do so isn’t the safest option, while staying indoors does not fully prepare patients to go back to the real-world.

This is an example of a team who worked diligently during their time at DifferenceMaker, as they ended up winning first place against teams such as Harvard and MIT during the Beantown Throwdown competition in 2019!

Then, a brainstorming activity took place where students were able to discuss the problems they are looking to solve with each other.

Afterwards, students presented their ideas to everyone. The problems included challenges with adapting to the resources available, international students not knowing the resources provided to them, students feeling unprepared for college and its various services, and a lack of awareness about resources across campus.

This allowed students to network with one another and gain new connections for potential teammates. Each person/group utilized the “DifferenceMaker Problem Toolkit Worksheet” to help with narrowing the specifics of the issue at hand.

Thank you to everyone that joined DifferenceMaker for Workshop 1!

On February 3rd, the Rist DifferenceMaker $50,000 Season Kick-Off was held in the Saab Center, Perry Atrium from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Richard Juknavorian, Rist DifferenceMaker Director, opened the event by welcoming everyone and providing introductions.

Then, Provost Joe Hartman spoke about the importance of solving problems and having a social impact. Then, he encouraged all attendees to apply to the $50,000 Idea Challenge.

Next, Rist DifferenceMaker Director Richard Juknavorian, introduced the DifferenceMaker program. He explained details for the 13th Annual $50,000 Idea Challenge taking place this semester. The 2025 DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge application Has been extended and is now due February 17 at 5 p.m.!

After the introductory presentation, the real-life DifferenceMaker Panel and Q&A session took place! The panel consisted of members from past DifferenceMaker teams who answered questions from Richard Juknavorian and shared their entrepreneurial experiences with DifferenceMaker. First up was Jacob Breen of RAVI, who won the 2024 Honorable Mention, a $2,000 award. The Q&A was then followed up with Deigo King of Quick Release Window Bars , who won the 2023 Honorable Mention, answered questions and provided advice to the student audience. The Panel session Q&A ended with Josh Landis of SparkCell Technologies, who won the 2024 Rist Campus-Wide DifferenceMaker, a $6,000 award.

Richard Juknavorian asked the panelists a series of questions which gave the student audience a better understanding of the requirements to be in the DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge and more information about their startups. The audience then got the chance to ask the panelists valuable questions.

Following the panel discussion, guest speaker Stephanie Roulic, Founder & CEO of Startup Boston, took the stage. She shared insights on the startup ecosystem and how students can leverage resources to turn their ideas into viable ventures. Stephanie emphasized the importance of networking, resilience, and taking advantage of opportunities like the DifferenceMaker program to gain hands-on experience in entrepreneurship. Her talk inspired students to think creatively and take the first steps toward launching their own businesses.

Following the Q&A, David Vatalaro, Rist DifferenceMaker Fellow, led the students in the Idea Hack Activity to get students brainstorming potential ideas they could apply to the challenge. Students split into groups sat at tables labeled with specific industries that interested them.

The students started to brainstorm problems and then started to discuss possible solutions. They were able to collaborate with each other and with the DifferenceMaker Faculty Fellows. Towards the end of this activity, students shared their problems and solutions with everyone.

To close off this engaging event, Richard Juknavorian spoke about the next steps in getting involved in DifferenceMaker and participating in the $50,000 Idea Challenge.