3 Wake Tech Students Join Elite Global Innovation Program

Elle Ruiz, Mannal Amjad, and Sehyun Park just achieved something rare: they're among only 77 students from nine countries named University Innovation Fellows for 2025. Even more impressive? Wake Tech is one of just two community colleges represented in the entire program.

The trio completed six weeks of intensive online training focused on driving innovation at their schools. Now they're putting their new expertise to work with an Innovation Marathon designed to connect Wake Tech students with campus resources.

"Through this program, I've learned about a lot of resources that I didn't know existed," said Amjad, who has already earned a Dental Assisting Diploma and expects to graduate with two associate degrees in May.

The Marathon kicks off February 9 with a keynote from Alyssa Martina, a Faculty Innovation Fellow at Stanford University. She'll inspire students to begin their own innovation journeys before workshops guide them through mapping their time at Wake Tech.

Park will lead students through creating "fidget clickers" on 3D printers in the campus Makerspace. Amjad and Wellness Services staff will combine mental health discussions with puzzle design, showing how wellbeing fuels innovation.

The three students came together after their individual projects reached the finals of Wake Tech's Eagle Innovation Challenge but didn't place in the top three. Instead of giving up, they pivoted to create something bigger.

"Innovation isn't just the start of something new," Amjad explained. "It's also [taking] something that already exists, and you improve it through the process."

The Ripple Effect

This win extends far beyond Wake Tech's campus. The students will travel to the Netherlands in April for a UIF conference, where they'll network with innovation leaders worldwide and exchange ideas that could shape their entire careers.

Their success is already inspiring others at Wake Tech. The college plans to sponsor two students for the UIF competition annually, creating an ongoing pipeline of student changemakers.

"It gives students the opportunity to connect to other students all over the world who are innovation-oriented," said Emily Moore, who heads the Communication and Theatre Department. "They can learn from each other and build networks to tap into during their careers."

Ruiz, who graduated last year but continues taking classes before transferring to a four-year university, sees the bigger picture. "The idea is to give us a tool to be change-makers at our school," she said.

For community college students often overlooked in prestigious programs, these three are proving that innovation leadership belongs everywhere.