Saint Mary's Newsroom

Seven Saint Mary’s students and staff recently attended the Kente Summit at Macalester College in St. Paul on Nov. 2-3. Freshman Byron King, sophomores Shamauri Brown-Young and Raekwon Livingston, junior Aaron Kibirige, and senior Aldontae Guess attended the event, accompanied by staff members Octavia Brown, Countdown to College coordinator, and Naz Zerka, Wellness Center counselor.

Brown-Young described his experience at the Kente Summit as “mind blowing.”

The event brings together male, undergraduate students of African descent from colleges and universities in Minnesota for keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and community building. Discussions focused on issues and experiences related to identity, intersectionality, inclusion, and intentionality.

“Being able to talk to and meet other African American men who experience the same thing I experience on a campus where the majority look nothing like me showed me that I’m not alone,” Brown-Young said.

Many presenters were featured at the Kente Summit, including Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News and a political contributor for CNN.

“It was so amazing to be surround by so many intelligent, charismatic, humorous, and strong collegiate black men. Their spirits were contagious,” said Brown. “It was powerful to hear their unique stories and watch them come together as black men and brothers from various walks of life. I left feeling inspired.”

Guess has attended the Kente Summit before. He said, “It has been an experience of revelation, bonding and brotherhood. It warms my heart my heart to know that there are still men of color out here in the masses working toward a positive future and toward making a difference in our world.”

Photo caption: Pictured are (back row, from left), Shamauri Brown-Young, student; Octavia Brown, Countdown to College coordinator; Aaron Kibirige, student; Naz Zerka, Wellness Center counselor; (front row, from left) students Byron King, Raekwon Livingston, and Aldontae Guess.

The task: go from an idea to a prototype — in just 54 hours.

Five Saint Mary’s students participated in the third-annual Rochester Startup Weekend event, held at Collider Coworking in Rochester.

The goal of the annual event is to gather a group of like-minded entrepreneurs, some college-aged, others already professionals in their fields, to collaborate on a startup business idea. The only thing they needed to bring was a willingness to take risks.

Stephany Beck ’21, a marketing and entrepreneurship double major from Oshkosh, Wis., wants to go into corporate marketing and entrepreneurship for a large company after graduating.

James Perreault ’20, a finance and entrepreneurship double major from Batvia, Ill., hopes one day to be a portfolio manager.

For both students, the opportunity to network, learn more about how to start their own businesses, and gain confidence in presenting — all made possible through the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies — was a valuable one.

Beck’s team decided to pitch bullet-resistant doors for hospitals and classrooms, an idea that originated with Jacob Taschetta ’19. “Because of the recent Pittsburgh shooting, it was a timely issue, and we were able to correlate the need,” Beck said. In the process her team thought through the product itself, addressed why it was needed, and tried to predict any problems that would arise.

“We talked about the situation of what can happen in the six minutes between when police are called and they arrive at the scene. We wanted to provide the barricade during those six minutes, and we wanted to market to different security systems,” Beck said.

Although she loved the entire exercise, Beck particularly likes the sales aspects of entrepreneurship. “I like to talk to people,” she said. Last year her team won the competition with a business idea related to farmer’s market delivery. This year, she said, it was more difficult to market something that is centered around an uncomfortable topic.

“This year I learned different ways to interview people about personal and difficult subjects and I learned you’re not always going to win with your idea, even if you feel super passionate about it. Everyone has very good ideas, and it’s great to learn from them as well,” Beck said. “Through events like this through Kabara, I get more experience in the field and it helps me further decide what I want to do in the future.”

Perrault was on this year’s winning team with a 2,000-year-old personality test card game called “What were you thinking?”

He described it as an educational and fun way for people to gain more empathy for others while learning about themselves in a fun setting.

“It was a heavy workload, but it was so much fun,” he said. “Right from the start, it really got us critically thinking what problem can we solve. As we progressed, it was really cool interacting with people who want to work as hard as I do. We decided what we wanted to do, did market research in Rochester, and tested the viability of the idea, and then all day Saturday we spent developing our vision for the product and creating a mockup. We were lucky enough to have the mentors help us put together a website.”

By advertising through social media, they even received 17 pre-orders on the game.

“First-place prize was $1,000 and we receive free rent at Collider and access to their network and printers,” Perreault said. “It’s allowing us an opportunity to grow this idea into something.”

Perreault said he believes anyone can be an entrepreneur. “You just have to have the confidence to go out and try new things. We just have to change our perception of what entrepreneurship is. It’s a matter of taking the first step.”

Being involved with the Kabara Institute, he said, is helping him develop “substantially.” “I’m getting so much experience in all sectors of business. he said. “Dr. Christine Beech really goes above and beyond to be sure all students are succeeding and engaged. Working with Kabara has not only improved my public speaking, it’s also improved me as a person and helped me tap into my drive to get things done.”

The Saint Mary’s Theatre and Dance Department will present William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this weekend in the Page Theatre:

• Friday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m.

Capulets, Montagues, and a love for the ages. Saint Mary’s Theatre and Dance Department takes on Shakespeare’s classic tale of two star-crossed lovers whose feuding families are united through their tragic deaths.

A question-and-answer session with the production’s dramaturg, director, designers, and company members will take place immediately following the Friday performance. Also participating will be special guest Dr. John Kerr, associate professor of English and resident Shakespeare scholar.

General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Order online, in person, or by calling the box office at 507-457-1715 (noon to 6 p.m., weekdays). Saint Mary’s faculty and staff may receive two complimentary tickets to one performance. Please contact the box office directly to order. Student rush tickets may be available in the lobby beginning 20 minutes prior to each performance, subject to availability. (Limit one ticket per student, valid Saint Mary’s student ID required.)

Thank you to all faculty and staff who came to the Halloween ‘Boo-fet’ and costume contest on Wednesday. The event raised a total of $224.

The winners of the costume contest (pictured above) were the Business Office/Cardinal Central staff as “BRO (Budget Relief Officers)”. They will be donating their prize money to scholarships.

Development and Alumni Relations took second place as swimmers, jellyfish, and a well-dressed shark. Thank you to Chartwells for donating the water, to the Faculty and Staff Spirit Committee for bringing the food, and to Vlazny Hall staff for bringing desserts. Special thanks to the judges, Nick Winecke, Zak Mayo, and Rashika Webb.

Thank you to all of the staff and students who helped make this year’s Halloween Fun Night on Monday such a success. About 400 people enjoyed playing games and going trick-or-treating. A huge thanks to Development and Alumni Relations for supplying candy and for everyone who donated candy and funds to help us make this community event so enjoyable. Another special thanks to Nikki Richmond and Mike Ostman for setting up and organizing this massive event, and to all the clubs and volunteers.