‘BizPitch’ Contest Winners Named
Angelo State University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Norris-Vincent College of Business have announced the winners of the 2025 BizPitch student entrepreneurship competition following the recent live finals event in the LeGrand Alumni and Visitors Center.
The BizPitch competition began in January when individual ASU students or teams of up to four students were invited to submit video pitches of their ideas for new business startups. A panel of ASU business faculty and SBDC specialists selected five finalists to make live pitch presentations to a panel of judges made up of local business professionals.
Winners of the 2025 BizPitch competition are:
- First Place ($2,500 prize) – Liger Hydro Clean
Eugene Liger III of Cypress, mass media major
Business Tagline: “We clean your property, not your pockets.” - Second Place ($1,500 prize) – The Brushery
Anjelina Humphreys of San Angelo, MBA in healthcare management
Business Tagline: “The art of beauty, the science of smiles.” - Third Place ($1,000 prize) – Cloud Surfer
Bella Garrett of Tuscola, commercial aviation major
Business Tagline: “Surfing skies, serving bliss.” - Finalist ($250 prize) – Stitch Kitch
Ryanne Swanson of Granbury, economics major
Business Tagline: “A cooking place for all chefkind.” - Finalist ($250 prize) – Drive Thru Wise
Kaleb Morkovsky of El Paso, economics major
Drin Qerimi of Prishtina, Kosovo, finance major
Business Tagline: “Save time, skip lines, Drive Thru Wise.”
The finalists each made eight-minute live presentations to the judges and answered judges’ questions during the finals event. The cash prizes are for the winners to use as seed money for their new ventures.
The panel of business professionals who judged the finals included:
- Andi Markee – Media Advantage
- Leonard “Lenny” Christo – Goodfellow Air Force Base
- Bailey Dominguez – Armstrong, Backus & Co., LLP
- Christian Garcia – Developmate
The BizPitch competition is designed to provide ASU students with opportunities to learn through interaction with SBDC business advisors, ASU faculty mentors and ASU alumni who are successful in business, as well as to promote and foster student entrepreneurship at ASU.
This year’s competition was sponsored by Hydraulic Industrial Services LLC, Old Central Firehouse Pizzeria & Taproom, and the Waterford Wellness Spa, with in-kind sponsorship from Glazer’s Beer & Beverage and San Angelo Studios.
Cybersecurity & Computer Coding Camps Set
Angelo State University’s Department of Computer Science will host its annual ASU Code Camp and CyberCamp@ASU week-long summer camps for local and area middle school and high school students in June in the ASU Mathematics-Computer Science (MCS) Building, 2200 Dena Drive.
ASU Code Camp will run June 2-6 with sessions from 9 a.m. to noon each day. It is free and open to students interested in computer programming, coding and creating animations using JavaScript programming language and tools. Instructors will include ASU faculty and students, as well as local professionals from TCP Software.
Students can attend ASU Code Camp on campus or online. On-campus seating is limited to 100 students. Technology required to participate online includes a personal computer or laptop and internet access.
Advance registration is required and can be completed online at angelo.edu/code-camp.
CyberCamp@ASU will run June 9-13 with sessions from 8:30 a.m. to noon each day. It is free and open to students interested in cybersecurity. Students will focus on the Air Force Association (AFA) Cyber Camp curriculum, hear from local cybersecurity experts, and interact with area businesses to learn firsthand how they are combating cyber threats, among other topics.
The camp will culminate with an exciting, team-based competition that puts the students in the role of IT administrators tasked with finding and addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated network environments. The competition will closely mimic the AFA’s annual CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
In conjunction with the CyberCamp@ASU for students, ASU will host a free Teacher’s Workshop to train local and area middle, junior high and high school teachers in cybersecurity. The workshop will also take place June 9-13 on the ASU campus, and participating teachers will also have opportunities to observe the student camp sessions.
Advance registration is required for both the student camp and teacher’s workshop – and can be completed online at angelo.edu/cyber-camp.
The camps are being conducted in collaboration with the ASU College of Science and Engineering, College of Education and Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Cyber Intelligence, Innovation, and Security Studies. Both camps are supported by sponsorships from TCP Software, a local software and hardware solutions company.
Outstanding Graduate Students Announced
ASU honored its 2025 Outstanding Graduate Students, as well as the recipients of four superlative awards, during the recent Graduate Research Symposium and Awards Ceremony in the Houston Harte University Center.
The honorees were nominated by faculty in their respective academic departments, and each received a certificate of recognition. They are listed here by their hometowns and majors.
The Outstanding Graduate Students for the College of Arts and Humanities are:
- Cortney Lopez of Converse – communication
- Matthew Riddle of Cheney, Wash. – global security studies
- McKenzie Raymond of Llano – English
The Norris-Vincent College of Business honoree is:
- Jacob Guerrero of Colleyville – professional accountancy
Honorees for the College of Education are:
- Courtney Boyd of Tyler – mental health and wellness counseling
- Kristopher Lomas of San Angelo – student development and leadership in higher education
- Taryn Titsworth of Comfort – administrative leadership
- Ryan Ramirez of San Angelo – educational leadership
- Candice Geske of Friona – curriculum and instruction-advanced instructor
- Kirsten Allen of Mason – professional school counseling
Archer College of Health and Human Services honorees are:
- Ashley Minor of San Angelo – family nurse practitioner
- Raina Brown of Georgetown – nurse educator
- Brittney Hoenshell of Irving – physical therapy
- Zane Grimm of Lorena – athletic training
- Anley Longshore of Andrews – counseling psychology
- Melissa Mansfield of Denton – applied psychology
- Autumn Contreras of San Angelo – public health
- Manning Marsh of Springtown – coaching, sport, recreation and fitness administration
Honorees for the College of Science and Engineering are:
- Celia Frew of Harwich, Mass. – agriculture
- Cameron Poole of Kerrville – animal science
- Ashley Loehn of Denver, Colo. – biology
Additionally, winners of the four superlative awards were selected from among the Outstanding Graduate Students by a separate committee.
The superlative awards recipients are:
- Academic Excellence – Mckenzie Raymond
- Leadership Excellence – Cameron Poole
- Research Excellence – Ashley Loehn
- Community Service Excellence – Autumn Contreras
ASU graduate students who presented research posters during the Graduate Research Symposium were also recognized.
— From Tom Nurre Jr., ASU Office of Marketing and Communications
