Entrepreneurship, ideas come to life for Longwood students at new SEED Innovation Hub

“I whipped out my notebook, and in the back of it I drew up a concept idea of what each part does and gave it a name. That was the birth of the Cast Cradle,” Stephens recalled. “It went from being an idea on a piece of paper to this.”

Stephens was proudly showing off his Cast Cradle prototypes—he’s now on No. 5—inside the new SEED Innovation Hub, where he used a 3D printer and 3D modeling software to bring his invention to life as part of his entrepreneurship class this semester.

SEED, located downtown in Midtown Square in the space that was formerly the Longwood bookstore, has been in a soft opening phase this spring—giving students like Stephens the first opportunity to utilize the innovation hub. It features wet and dry makerspaces, a digital media space, a computer lab and co-working space. Among the tools available to use are 3D and resin printers, woodworking machinery and tools, laser cutter, laser engraver, podcasting equipment and sewing machines.

The innovation hub is a partnership between education and business that will offer equipment, resources and mentorship to citizens of all ages throughout Southside Virginia. It is envisioned as a place where Longwood and Hampden-Sydney college students, as well as community members, can work, learn, innovate, create and connect to entrepreneurship resources. This summer it will open to the public.

The Applied Entrepreneurial Leadership course taught this semester by Jacob Dolence, director of educational innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems and a faculty scholar in the Cormier Honors College, was one of the first opportunities for Longwood students to use the SEED space. The class is part of Longwood’s new entrepreneurship and innovation minor, offered for the first time this year.

“This is an incredible opportunity to take the knowledge and passion that students have and help them translate that to making things,” Dolence said. “With Civitae, we have an emphasis on challenging students to solve problems. Problem solving is a core skill for entrepreneurs. We identify a problem, then come up with innovative and creative solutions and think about how we can implement them.”

Pitching a Purpose

In late April, SEED was the host site for a joint Demo Day event for Longwood and Hampden-Sydney students. The pitch competition—which Dolence described as a type of science fair for entrepreneurship—featured a total of 50 students from both colleges, who came to present and pitch their innovative ideas and products and talk about what they learned through the process.

Among them was Megan Brown ’26, who explained that she was pitching a purpose, not just a product. Using a laser cutter at SEED, Brown is in the process of manufacturing wooden earrings she plans to sell in her Etsy shop.

A native of New York’s Hudson Valley, Brown will donate $1 from each pair of earrings sold to Fearless!, an organization back home that assists women in domestic violence situations. The earring design, which Brown drew herself, features a cosmos flower, the birth flower of October, which is domestic violence awareness month. Evan Jones, director of SEED, helped her through the process and getting the earrings cut to the right size, which involved some trial and error. With more than a decade of experience as a teacher and technology coach, he has the perfect combination of experience for overseeing day-to-day operations, which often involves providing help to those using the SEED facility.

Brown’s mission-driven pitch won the overall award at Demo Day and she took home a $2,000 prize. She plans to continue making the earrings at SEED through the summer in order to have 100 pairs in stock before launching them in her Etsy store.

Brown, a business administration marketing and management major with a concentration in supply chain management, was one of Dolence’s students working in SEED this spring. She added the new entrepreneurship and innovation minor at the end of last year.

“I thought what better minor to have because I have my Etsy business and this class could really help me develop my business,” she said.

Both Brown and Stephens said they appreciate the hands-on learning opportunities at SEED and how applicable the skills they are learning will be in their future careers.

“We have all of this state-of-the-art equipment that we can use, and we are taught how to use it,” Brown said. “It’s so much better than sitting in the classroom and listening to a lecture on entrepreneurship. It’s all real-world experience, which is really great.”

A Place Where Ideas Become Reality

SEED is not only being utilized by business students. It’s open to all students, and classes from various disciplines across campus started collaborating this spring, from art to chemistry to physics.

Whitney Kallenbach, a clinical educator in Longwood’s therapeutic recreation program, brought 25 of her students to SEED and tasked them with creating a prototype for something that would help real-world clients or friends. One student made a page-turning device to help Parkinson’s patients while another created a bracelet to help stroke survivors communicate. Another student set out to help a friend who couldn’t find a cup holder that would fit her wheelchair.

Dolence also works for Longwood’s Small Business Development Center, which will have space in SEED. He said the unique model utilized by SEED fits Longwood’s mission of developing citizen leaders. And it will be a valuable selling point for prospective students because it showcases how Longwood is a place where they can make their ideas become reality.

“It’s incredible. I’ve worked at other universities and not seen anything like this,” Dolence said. “What we have here is really special because it brings together people from campus and industry. Students can expand on what they are learning through Longwood’s liberal arts education to make an impact in the real world.”

Ben Gettier ’26 was one of the Demo Day participants who did not find his way to SEED through the entrepreneurship class.

Last summer the environmental science major from Virginia Beach built a prototype of a modular aquatic drone, which can be used for environmental monitoring and surveying bodies of water. He brought the 60-pound model to campus and it had been taking up space in his Longwood Landings residence until he learned SEED was opening right next door.

“I was working on it in my free time, and then I heard this space was turning into a makerspace,” he recalled. “I emailed Jacob, and they invited me to come in for a tour. After that I basically set up space on a table, and I’ve been here working ever since.”

He used the laser cutter at SEED to make hatches to waterproof his first prototype, built using the hull from a replica tug boat. He has also been working on another prototype.

At Demo Day, Gettier pitched his company, Bathymetrix, which will develop and sell modular and scalable aquatic data-collection drones. He is working with the SBDC to determine whether it’s feasible to get the business off the ground once he graduates.

Gettier, who has a concentration in earth science and minor in geographic information science, has already used his prototype to do bathymetric survey work at Wilkes Lake in Farmville. He also plans to use the drone for a research project with Dr. Ravi Sankar, assistant professor of environmental science and geography, at Longwood’s Baliles Center for Environmental Education at Hull Springs.

Community Collaboration

When Stephens, a business administration marketing major from Wytheville, called fly-fishing shops and asked if they would be interested in carrying his Cast Cradle product—all gave him positive feedback.

He already has ideas for improving prototypes No. 6 and No. 7 now that he’s learned he can use smaller magnets without sacrificing effectiveness. He got some helpful pointers on how to cut down on costs and scale for mass production from YakAttack engineers. YakAttack, a Farmville-based company specializing in kayak fishing accessories and gear, was founded by businessman and state Sen. Luther Cifers, an early supporter of SEED who has offered mentoring and coaching to students.

Stephens, who has endorsements in supply chain management and entrepreneurship, said his next step will be to procure a provisional patent. After that he plans to build a website and design packaging.

“I really wanted to get into something where I’m making something with my hands that I could provide to people,” he said. “It’s great that Longwood can provide this hands-on learning for students. It’s really a good thing we have here.”