On May 14, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Minor Class of 2026 — the largest cohort in the program’s history — gathered in the Questrom auditorium to celebrate the close of four years of building, questioning, and iterating. With 280 students having declared the minor, the program continues its run as Boston University’s second most popular minor. A short program of student speakers kicked off the event, followed by a reception, class photos, and family portraits.
Student Speakers
Loryn Charbonnier (COM’26) opened the ceremony with a charge to the graduates to keep exploring, creating, questioning, and persevering. She encouraged the class to conduct authentic self-examination and to compose their own stories of accomplishment, grounded in gratitude, empathy, integrity, and the relationships that shape a meaningful life.
Clarissa Chen (CAS’26) took the stage next and framed her remarks as a Double Diamond exercise, walking the audience through her four years as a series of product iterations. As a first-year student, Clarissa launched Terrier Exchange, a move-in/move-out shop for students, in Wendy Swart-Grossman’s SI 250 Ideas to Impact class — a project that carried her team to the semifinals of the BU Climate Innovation Challenge. By senior year, she and a partner earned an honorable mention for Best Financial Hack with Spent, a predictive budgeting app. Her four lessons were: 1) good solutions start with important problems, 2) hold on to the people who fuel you, 3) disagreements lead to stronger ideas, and 4) good execution starts with a good plan. She closed by reminding her classmates that the two most important products they will ever build are their lives and their brands.
Sophia Sorcigli (CAS’26) followed, telling the story of the big question mark she arrived at BU with — one she now considers the best gift of her undergraduate experience. Sophia traced her path from a first-week pitch at Innovate@BU’s beloved Pitch & Pizza event, through Innovation Pathway with her venture Crafters for Creativity, and into long stretches of office hours with Nana, Katie, and Wendy. She credited Professor Grossman with teaching her the power of story and Professor Zajemalsk with shifting her focus from solutions to problems worth solving.
“[The Innovation & Entrepreneurship minor] has taught me that innovation is not just solving problems, but uncovering them, interrogating them, and deeply understanding them.” – Sophia Sorcigli
