--- title: Big Idea Center Blog (3) description: "Do you have a #pittbigidea come to the Big Idea Center and stay in touch with us to hear the latest from our blog. (3)" --- [Skip to main content](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/3#main) [wordpress](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/) Menu Close - [About](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/) - [Why Us](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/why-us/) - [Staff](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/staff-directory/) - [Notable Alumni](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/notable-alumni/) - [Programs](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/) - [How We Help](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/how-we-help/) - [Pitt x CMU Global Entrepreneurship Week](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/pitt-x-cmu-global-entrepreneurship-week/) - [She Innovates](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/she-innovates/) - [Big Idea Blitz](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/big-idea-blitz/) - [Start Smart Series](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/start-smart-series/) - [Big Idea Competition](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/randall-family-big-idea-competition/) - [Blast Furnace](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/blast-furnace/) - [The Forge](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/the-forge/) - [Team Finder](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/team-finder/) - [Post a Team Request](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/post-a-team-request/) - [Entrepreneurs in Residence](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/eirs-student-programs/) - [Events](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/events/) - [Blog](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter) - [Get Started](https://go.innovation.pitt.edu/big-idea-get-started) Search for: Search [Big Idea Center](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/) ##### Connect with Us - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/pittbigidea/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pittbigidea) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/pittbigidea/) Search for: Search Research Sites Pitt Research (main) Research Computing Research Protections Sponsored Programs Trade Compliance - [About](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/) - [Why Us](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/why-us/) - [Staff](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/staff-directory/) - [Notable Alumni](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/notable-alumni/) - [Programs](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/) - [How We Help](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/how-we-help/) - [Global Entrepreneurship Week](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/signature-programs/gew/) - [Big Idea Blitz](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/big-idea-blitz/) - [Start Smart Legal Series](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/start-smart-series/) - [Big Idea Competition](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/signature-programs/big-idea-competition/) - [Blast Furnace](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/blast-furnace/) - [The Forge](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/the-forge/) - [Team Finder](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/team-finder/) - [Post a Team Request](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/post-a-team-request/) - [Entrepreneurs in Residence](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/eirs-student-programs/) - [Events](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/events/) - [Blog](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter) - [Get Started](https://go.innovation.pitt.edu/big-idea-get-started) # Blog ## [Breaking Grad: Reflecting on Starting my Solo Business During Lockdown as Graduation Nears - Sai Govindaraju '23](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/breaking-grad-sai-govindaraju) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-11%20at%209.41.54%20AM.png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/breaking-grad-sai-govindaraju) Apr 19, 2023 9:35:16 AM I’d like to think of myself as creative, outgoing, and motivated – one word I would not use to describe myself is patient. Like a lot of freshmen in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I first came to Pitt. I came in pre-med and ended up as a business student, and when I transferred into CBA at the beginning of my sophomore year, I knew I would be behind other sophomores who were already in CBA. Impatient in nature, I knew that I didn’t want to wait to learn business skills in the classroom and decided to use my quarantine hobby as a tool to develop business acumen on my own. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/breaking-grad-sai-govindaraju) ## [Entrepreneurship Isn’t Just for Adults: How Pitt Student Innovators are Inspiring Young Minds to Think Creatively](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/entrepreneurship-isnt-just-for-adults) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-30%20at%2011.51.06%20AM.png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/entrepreneurship-isnt-just-for-adults) Apr 5, 2023 7:45:00 AM Entrepreneurship is not just for adults; even young children can learn about it and be inspired to think creatively. Recently, the Big Idea Center collaborated with the Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship to bring in two successful Pitt student entrepreneurs, Anna Li and Joe Maggiore, to speak with elementary students about their experiences with entrepreneurship. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/entrepreneurship-isnt-just-for-adults) ## [Creating a Greener Campus for Pitt Students by Pitt Students: Pitt's Student Office of Sustainability - Christy Kim '24](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-a-greener-campus-pitt-soos) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/imageedit_16_9139334535-1.png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-a-greener-campus-pitt-soos) Mar 29, 2023 7:45:00 AM Hi there! My name is Christy Kim, and I am a junior studying environmental studies and economics here at Pitt. Along with my academic studies, I have had the pleasure of being the Program Associate for Social Media and Communications for Pitt’s Student Office of Sustainability (or SOOS, for short). The SOOS has given me the opportunity to connect with like-minded students who are passionate about environmental issues, and it was through the SOOS that I met some of my greatest friends and coworkers. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-a-greener-campus-pitt-soos) ## [Creating Ripples of Sustainable Change - Sydney Shoff, Founder of Sol Refill](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-ripples-of-sustainable-change) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/SolRefillSydney.jpeg)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-ripples-of-sustainable-change) Mar 8, 2023 7:45:00 AM My journey. Many people in my family own small businesses, my father, my mother, my grandfathers, my grandmothers, and my cousins, for example. I've always admired the creativity and drive of business owners, and growing up I knew I would want to have my own someday. In the past decade, my career path has shown me the ins and outs of small business. I've worn many, many hats—from creating visual retail displays to marketing to project management. Meanwhile, I began teaching yoga, which nurtured a deep care for helping people live with more awareness and connection and today I am also the co-owner of Inspirit, an online space to engage with other curious humans to deepen and expand the ripple effect of yoga. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/creating-ripples-of-sustainable-change) ## [What Clock Do You Want to be a Part Of? My Venture for America Entrepreneurial Fellow Experience - Micah Headley (CBA '22)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/what-clock-do-you-want-to-be-a-part-of-my-vfa-experience) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Micah%20Headley.jpg)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/what-clock-do-you-want-to-be-a-part-of-my-vfa-experience) Feb 22, 2023 7:45:00 AM While I was in college, I did everything imaginable to stay away from a corporate career. The junior-year-internship-with-a-large-firm to senior-year-job-offer pipeline always struck me as the quickest path to my soul being crushed. Just by participating in the process, I felt guaranteed to fade into a state of middle management comatose. In hopes of avoiding that, I worked almost entirely with small businesses and community organizations while at Pitt. I wanted to have complete control over my professional life, and that was how I decided to do it. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/what-clock-do-you-want-to-be-a-part-of-my-vfa-experience) ## [Lessons for Innovation from 25 Years at the Coal Face - Peter Allen, Pitt Innovation Institute's Executive Director of Innovation & Strategy](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/lessons-for-innovation-peter-allen) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Strategy%20Diagram.jpg)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/lessons-for-innovation-peter-allen) Feb 15, 2023 7:45:00 AM What you will read below is a collection of opinions and (hopefully) practical suggestions. If you're looking for referenced materials, I guess you should look elsewhere, but if you're interested in picking up some pointers or discovering something that makes you realize that you're treading in the footsteps of others, then I suggest that you read on. NOTE: in some of the answers, I exaggerate for effect - that is deliberate. I wanted to create a contrast frame that would make you sit up and really think... [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/lessons-for-innovation-peter-allen) ## [Taking Dreams Into my Own Hands - Hannah Beil '25](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/taking-dreams-into-my-own-hands-hannah-beil-25) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/IMG_1337.jpg)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/taking-dreams-into-my-own-hands-hannah-beil-25) Feb 2, 2023 10:33:46 AM If there is one word to describe me, as a student, an entrepreneur, a family member, a friend, and everything in between, it would be that I am a dreamer. Dedicated to my studies as a marketing, supply chain, and business information systems major at the University of Pittsburgh, I am passionate about acquiring all of the necessary skills needed in the business world to apply to my future endeavors. For as long as I can recall, my dad has imprinted the genuine fact that having general skills in your toolbox will propel you through any job or task you come across. Learning about how to market a business properly through data analytics to understand how to code an official website is all relevant to my current business I started a little over two years ago now. [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/taking-dreams-into-my-own-hands-hannah-beil-25) ## [Meet Maansi Shah '25, Big Idea Center Student Outreach & Engagement Assistant](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/meet-maansi-shah) [![Anna Li](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Maansi%20Shah%201.png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/meet-maansi-shah) Jan 11, 2023 7:45:00 AM [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/meet-maansi-shah) ## [Top 10 Big Idea Blog Posts of 2022](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/top-10-big-idea-blog-posts-of-2022) [![](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Top%2010%20Big%20Idea%20Blog%20Posts%20of%202022%20(Twitter%20Post).png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/top-10-big-idea-blog-posts-of-2022) Dec 7, 2022 7:45:00 AM 2022 has been a year full of adventure, new beginnings, and incredible memories here at the Big Idea Center! With another year in the books, we would like to take a moment to look back and reflect upon the stories that 2022 has brought us as we highlight our 10 most popular Big Idea Blog posts of 2022! We hope that as you browse these insightful articles written by Pitt alum, current Pitt students, Big Idea Center staff, and more, that you gain inspiration from their points of view as well as additional knowledge to further equip you on your innovation and entrepreneurial journey as you head into 2023! Happy reading! [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/top-10-big-idea-blog-posts-of-2022) ## [Get to Know Josie Stein '24, Big Idea Center Student Marketing Assistant](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/get-to-know-josie-stein) [![Anna Li](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/hubfs/Josie%20Pitt%20Football%20Game.png)](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/get-to-know-josie-stein) Nov 16, 2022 7:45:00 AM We have a new face on the Big Idea Center team! We are excited to introduce Josie Stein, our first-ever Student Marketing Assistant! In this newly created role, Josie will help support our center's marketing efforts as we rapidly expand our services and offerings. Get to know more about Josie in this fun Q&A blog article! [Read More](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/get-to-know-josie-stein) - [«](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/1) - [‹](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/2) - [1](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/1) - [2](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/2) - [3](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/3) - [4](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/4) - [5](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/5) - [›](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/4) - [»](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter/page/12) ### RECENT POSTS ### SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG [wordpress](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/) wordpress Loeffler Building 3601 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA Phone:[412-624-3150](tel:+14126243150) ##### Big Idea Center - [About](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/) - [Why Us](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/why-us/) - [Staff](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/staff-directory/) - [Notable Alumni](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/about/notable-alumni/) - [Programs](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/) - [How We Help](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/how-we-help/) - [Pitt x CMU Global Entrepreneurship Week](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/pitt-x-cmu-global-entrepreneurship-week/) - [She Innovates](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/she-innovates/) - [Big Idea Blitz](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/big-idea-blitz/) - [Start Smart Series](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/start-smart-series/) - [Randall Family Big Idea Competition](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/randall-family-big-idea-competition/) - [Innovation Living Learning Community](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/innovation-living-learning-community/) - [Blast Furnace](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/blast-furnace/) - [The Forge](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/the-forge/) - [Team Finder](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/team-finder/) - [Post a Team Request](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/programs/post-a-team-request/) - [Entrepreneurs in Residence](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/eirs/) - [Events](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/events/) - [Blog](https://blog.innovation.pitt.edu/bigideacenter?__hstc=124543445.e72feb13dd81a75ad4e1704f986e8a6b.1610571552025.1611244601814.1611250908768.18&__hssc=124543445.5.1611250908768&__hsfp=2160776202) ##### Pitt Research Offices - [Pitt Research (main)](https://oep.pitt.edu/) - [Research Computing](https://svcresearch.pitt.edu/research-offices/office-research-computing) - [Research Protections](https://svcresearch.pitt.edu/research-offices/office-research-protections) - [Sponsored Programs](https://svcresearch.pitt.edu/research-offices/office-sponsored-programs) - [Trade Compliance](https://svcresearch.pitt.edu/research-offices/office-trade-compliance) ##### Connect with Us - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/pittbigidea/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pittbigidea) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/pittbigidea/) #### WE ARE PART OF ![wordpress](https://www.bigidea.pitt.edu/wp-content/themes/boxpress/assets/img/dist/footer-graphic-type.png) Copyright © 2026 wordpress. 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