Student Entrepreneurs Learn at Innovative Chicago Businesses

In July, Michael Kadus ’19, Eli Miller ’19 and Ellen Naughton ’19, the winners from this year’s student entrepreneurial LA Tank competition, and LA Tank student leaders Morgan Banks ’18, Sophia D'Agustino ’19, Susie Driscoll ’18 and Catherine Power '19 enjoyed a weeklong series of meetings and interactive experiences with alumni at some of Chicago’s most innovative businesses including Ascent Program Managers, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Google and 1871.
Earlier this spring, Kadus, Miller and Naughton, under the mentorship of alumni mentor Andreas Safakas ’05, conceptualized Soteria, a safety feature providing an alternative to driving under the influence. At the LA Tank competition finale on April 19, the group pitched their idea to a panel of judges including former Loyola Academy Principal Kathryn Baal, PhD; Erin Conroy ’07,CEO and cofounder of Phyt; John Garcia ’99, principal product manager at HARMAN International/ A Samsung Company; Chris Wolf ’97, franchisor of Five Guys; and Erin Casey Wolf ’98, co-franchisor and co-owner of Bella Bridesmaids. For their first place win, the team was awarded a week-long internship experience in Chicago.

The first stop on Monday, July 9, was a visit to Ascent Program Managers, the group managing the construction of Loyola’s Campus Master Plan. Ascent showed student the many aspects of a construction project and the numerous teams that help in the process. Students also visited Cannon Design, the architecture firm currently designing Loyola’s new John D. Norcross ’54 Aquatic Center.

On Tuesday, Kadus, Miller and Naughton were hosted by Kevin Willer ’92, founding CEO at 1871, Chicago’s entrepreneurial incubator and hub for collaboration, events, education programming and more. Willer gave the group a personal tour of the facility while explaining the background of the company. He talked about Chicago’s emerging technology scene and how he hopes to continue to grow that area of business in Chicago. In his capacity as CEO at 1871 and partner at Chicago Ventures, which invests in seed stage tech startups, WIller shared that typically hears over 100,00 pitches a year—but ultimately only invests in about ten companies each year.

On Wednesday, June 11, the Ramblers visited the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, where they were hosted by Loyola Academy parents Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer Nancy Paridy and Senior Director of Major Gifts Sandra Miller. The young entrepreneurs toured the pediatric floor, Innovation Center, Center for Bionic Medicine, Prosthetics & Orthotics, Max Nader Center for Rehabilitation Technologies & Outcomes Research and the Biologics Lab. Throughout the tour, they were joined by Luke Shepard '00, former software engineer for Facebook and Amazon. Shepard recently founded his own education technology start-up, eSpark.
 
On Thursday, Miller, Driscoll and Power enjoyed breakfast with Pat Corcoran ’08, who manages acclaimed Chicago-based artist Chance the Rapper. Notably, Corcoran was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2017. The students heard his atypical path to success and how he got to where he is today. The most important lesson that students took away from Corcoran was the importance of learning from mistakes. Corcoran assured the students that failure is inevitable and he stressed the importance of never giving up on their passions.

Finally, on Friday, July 13, Ramblers headed out for a tour of Google Chicago headquarters. The tour was led by the Jesuit-educated Head of Industry Scott Simony, a colleague of Loyola Academy parent Karen Sauder who is Google’s global client partner. During this incredible opportunity, students learned about the dynamic careers and opportunities available at Google.  

After spending a week with some of Chicago’s most innovative thinkers, Kadus, Miller and Naughton emerged with a new perspective on the business world. LA Tank's Internship Week provided me with an invaluable experience in seeing what a potential future career as an engineer would be like,” says Kadus. “This gave me the vision to see myself as an engineer five years from now, using my God-given talents and passion to make the world a better place and be a man for others.”

For questions about the LA Tank Program, contact Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Ashley Sanks' 10 at asanks@loy.org. 
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