Student Success
Three Students Chosen for International Innovation Program
RALEIGH, N.C. (February 2, 2026) – Wake Tech is proud to announce that three students are among 77 students from nine countries to be named University Innovation Fellows (UIF), a prestigious program that focuses on building innovation and making change at colleges and universities.
Elle Ruiz, Mannal Amjad and Sehyun Park completed six weeks of intensive online training and have developed a project to make Wake Tech students more aware of the array of resources available to them on campus. Their Innovation Marathon project takes place on February 9 and 11 on Southern Wake Campus.
The Innovation Marathon opens with a keynote from Alyssa Martina, former director of Elon University's Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a Faculty Innovation Fellow at Stanford University.
"She's very passionate about [innovation], so we wanted to bring her in and sort of inspire students to start their journey," said Ruiz, who graduated last year with Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degrees but continues to take classes before transferring to a four-year university in the fall. "We'll kind of use that as an introduction to our workshops."
Ruiz, who is part of the Peer Leaders program, and others in the program follow the keynote with a workshop to help students map out their journey at Wake Tech.
"What resources can you utilize? What can you accomplish? And how can you get there?" she said.
Two more workshops follow on February 11. First, Park will familiarize students with the Makerspace on campus by leading them through the process of creating "fidget clickers" – toys to promote mental focus – on 3D printers. Then, Amjad and Wellness Services staff will discuss mental well-being as they design puzzles.
"We came from all different backgrounds and majors, and we each wanted to pick one resource from Wake Tech and have students use it and become knowledgeable about it," said Park, who expects to graduate in May with AS and Associate in Engineering degrees.
"Through this program, I've learned about a lot of resources that I didn't know existed," said Amjad, who has earned a Dental Assisting Diploma and expects to graduate in May with AA and AS degrees.
All three say students should try to attend all four Innovation Marathon sessions, which they say cover the design thinking process, from planning to creation to testing, noting that well-being is important to all three phases.
"Innovation isn't just the start of something new. It's also [taking] something that already exists, and you improve it through the process," Amjad said.
The three joined forces after their individual projects – digital student IDs and art carts in libraries – were named finalists in Wake Tech's Eagle Innovation Challenge but didn't place in the top three. So, they pivoted to the Innovation Marathon idea to promote the college's resources for students for the UIF competition.
Debra Buchanan, an associate professor of Communication, and Melody Wiggins, director of Student Support programs, advised them during the UIF process and helped them refine their project.
"It has been a true honor to work with Elle, Mannal and Sehyun," Wiggins said. "Their passion and leadership culminated in the creation of an Innovation Marathon that will elevate and expand student‑led innovation at Wake Tech."
"Innovation is an essential part of our collective future, and it is vital that students have opportunities to actively engage in this work," Buchanan said.
Ruiz, Park and Amjad have the opportunity to discuss their project, network and exchange ideas with other fellows during a UIF conference in the Netherlands in April.
"The idea is to give us a tool to be change-makers at our school," Ruiz said.
Wake Tech is one of only two community colleges with students in the 2025 UIF cohort.
Devin Carhart, who graduated last May, was Wake Tech's first University Innovation Fellow and the only community college student in the 2024 cohort.
Emily Moore, who oversees the Eagle Innovation Challenge and heads the Communication and Theatre Department, says Wake Tech hopes to sponsor two students for the UIF competition annually.
"It gives students the opportunity to connect to other students all over the world who are innovation-oriented," Moore said. "They can learn from each other and build networks to tap into during their careers."
