Index of University Press Releases

Nov. 29, 2006

DWU students attend Innovation Expo

MITCHELL – Six DWU students accompanied by Bryan Hisel, executive director of the Kelley Center and the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce and Rhonda Pole, associate director of the Kelley Center attended the Innovation Expo in Sioux Falls on October 11.

“More than anything else, the Innovation Expo is about the exchange of ideas and it is ideas that will produce the next wave of economic development in South Dakota,” said Hisel.

“The students were able to see in real life some of the concepts and theories that Bryan teaches in the classroom. They were able to ask entrepreneurs personally about their passions and the challenges they faced while pursuing their passions,” said Pole.

“I knew that entrepreneurship was what I wanted to pursue before the Expo, but this experience showed me how real this choice is. There are so many opportunities and possibilities,” said Daniel Wysong, who is majoring in business with a minor in entrepreneurship.

Students attended sessions on branding; intellectual property; international marketing; venture capital; licensing and commercialization; and creativity. The Expo included an exhibit hall where entrepreneurs shared their stories of innovation and industry.

Students who attended were: Daniel Wysong, Tijeras, N.M.; Matt Pauley, Barrie, Ontario, Canada; Jeff Stanley, Palo Cedro, Calif.; Leon Hall, Fresno, Calif.; Kenneth Riley, Lancaster, Pa.; and Don Boyden, Mitchell.

For more information about the Kelley Center and the entrepreneurship program at Dakota Wesleyan University, visit www.dwu.edu/kelley.