Current Fellows

 

 Kai Vogeler is a Mechanical Engineering major in the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors program. His passion is teaching others about Design Thinking so that they know not only how to solve a problem, but know how to find the problem to solve.
Nolan Hanna is a junior studying Industrial and Systems Engineering and Business, and is a member of the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program. On campus, Nolan is involved in several organizations. He is a founding member of a new student organization, iris, which promotes Design Thinking as a way to be comfortable with the uncomfortable front-end of problem solving and human-centric innovation. Nolan is also a Senator to Undergraduate Student Government representing the interests of Engineering and Architecture students. When he has time, he enjoys photography, playing squash and supporting Ohio State Athletics with his friends.
Amun Mehta is an undergraduate student studying Operations Management and Social Psychology and Personality at the Ohio State University (OSU). Mehta is originally from Troy, MI, where he lived until 2017 when he moved to Columbus, Ohio. After his passion for design thinking surfaced, he was reached out to for the application to UIF. In his free time, Amun enjoys listening to old Italian records as well as sketching and drawing in his journal. Amun also serves as a New Member Educator for the Ohio Union Activities Board as well as the Vice President of Marketing and Communication for IRIS.
 Astha Rastogi is a sophomore studying Computer Science and Engineering and Business within the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors program. On campus, Astha serves as Vice President of Membership Development for the Buckeye Undergraduate Consulting Club (BUCC) and she enjoys interacting with small business owners by serving the Columbus community through Ascent Microfinance. In her free time, Astha enjoys running, having a great conversation with a great cup of coffee, writing, analyzing modern products, and eating Italian food.
Andrew Benisek is a University Innovation Fellow at The Ohio State University studying Computer Science Engineering in the Integrated Business and Engineering Honor Program. On campus, Andrew focuses on working across colleges to not only help others to gain breadth in their knowledge and skillset. He is an undergraduate teaching assistant in the Department of Engineering Education, helps run a non-profit focused of financial equality and economic growth, and works with his peers to help strengthen the IBE program on strategic projects. As a fulltime career, Andrew would like to go into Product Management where he can work every day to help improve the lives of product users around the world. Andrew joined the UIF program as a result of his combined love for his Ohio State experience, education, and entreprenuership. When Andrew was in high school, he was given the unique opportunity to not only pitch multiple businesses, but also intern at mutliple startups. Looking back on those experiences, he realized that it was those unique opportunities that have helped lead him to where he is today. As a UIF Andrew would like to use his drive and energy to help other students have their own unique experiences in hopes to create more creative and empowered Buckeyes!
Kai McKinney is a University Innovation Fellow, an industrial design major at the Ohio State University, and the co-founder of Helm, an arcade for hiring. His passions are for understanding wicked problems and systematic impact, particularly those pertaining to social mobility, healthcare, and sustainability. McKinney grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin in a multicultural household. He’s always intended to study design and pursue entrepreneurship.

At the Ohio State University, Kai is involved in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scholars (EIS) program, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and the Business Builders Club. Additionally, he’s worked as an intern in the Fisher College of Business and the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship since his first year of undergraduate study. Kai co-founded LaunchpadOSU, a landmark community-based startup event, in his second year of study. Through the Center for Innovative Studies, Kai served as an innovation consultant intern through OnRamp, which partnered student innovation with multinational corporations. In his second year of study, he co-founded Helm, a business which hires for technological talent in new and innovative ways.
For as long as he can remember, Kai was driven by curiosity. Growing up, this led him to the study of music, debate, and automotive mechanics. While his passion for these has not diminished, he has increasingly focused his education around understanding systems. Kai has collaborated with several institutions, including the Ohio State University in 2019, New North organization in 2018, the Nobel Prize institution in 2017, and the Hult Prize in 2019, to share ideas about creating systematic, impact-focused change. He intends to realize these ideas on his campus, especially for students across academic disciplines.
Lauren Saggar is a rising senior at The Ohio State University studying Computer Science and Engineering with a minor in Design Thinking from Cincinnati, OH. Through a culmination of experiences that have challenged, educated, and inspired her, she has learned to embrace risk, to take advantage of opportunities, and to welcome continuous learning. She spent her first summer during college in Cape Town, South Africa studying virtual reality, fueling her passion for areas that merge creative and analytical thinking. She seeks opportunities that support this learning and growth on campus.She enjoyed serving as a teaching assistant for one of the fundamental computer science courses at Ohio State and is piloting a new club on campus called Design ThinkTank to expose a diverse student body to the process of design thinking and potential for societal impact through consulting with social enterprises. She is also involved in Code 4 Community where she teaches basic computer science concepts to middle and high school students. Additionally, she loves cooking, spending time with family and friends, and playing tennis in her free time and has served as a member of the Ohio State Club Tennis Team.

The University Innovation Fellows program posed the perfect opportunity for Lauren to further develop and apply her skills in Design Thinking in such a way that provides benefit to her fellow students on campus. Her experiences in computer science and cross-cultural communication have strengthened her interest in pursuing initiatives that promote a healthy lifestyle, diverse interactions, and technological innovation. She strives to make an impact in these areas on her college campus through her leadership and entrepreneurial endeavors as a fellow and throughout her future career. She is excited by the unique perspectives that each fellow brings to the table, and can’t wait to work together to make a difference. Go Bucks!

Jen Schlegel is a University Innovation Fellow, a Biomedical Engineering student at The Ohio State University, and a certified ADA/504 Coordinator. After finishing her Bachelor’s she plans to continue to get a Masters in Medical Product Design while initializing a mobility/accessibility focused engineering firm. Jen’s ultimate dream is to become a neurologist and she’s a maker/creator/inventor with a life-long goal of improving people’s quality of life.In 2019, Jen won The Ohio State University’s Student Life Disability Services Outstanding Student Advocate Award, which honors students who act as exemplary advocates for disability access and inclusion on campus. In 2018 she won the Techhub Grant for HandikAPP; A touchscreen platform to give limited-to-no dexterity users access to advanced coding capabilities. In March 2019 she won the The Wexner Medical Center Brain Health Hack with an application for better medical response to chronic health instances. She was also a finalist in the Toyota Mobility Project in 2015 for an Application to improve indoor mobility for people with disabilities, a runner up in the IMR Innovat-o-thon in 2018 and placed third in the Business Builders Club IdeaPitch in April 2019. Jen is currently one of five finalists for the OSU President’s Prize.

She has been an member of the OnRamp Accelerator Program at OSU, and a project leader for the Medical Innovation Club with sponsorships from the Innovation Studio. She is also a project leader for Engineers for Community Service, where they design and build custom bikes for children with disabilities. Other projects include: Go-Go Thimble (A writing/stylus device that fits on a finger to improve writing capabilities for people with limited dexterity) HereTo (a robotic smart whiteboard system that assists people with disabilities better access to group meetings and collaborations), Vanishing Cabinet (a furniture concept to give greater storage options to people with disabilities), Handicom (touchscreen platform that assists limited to no dexterity users access to a collaborative workspace), Convertible Rollator Project (advances a convertible rollator/wheelchair to include a power wheelchair option for users with unpredictable mobility needs), and BeEnabled (a conceptualization of the future of paratransit systems).

Kaylee Chang is a student at The Ohio State University studying finance with a double minor in Spanish and Quechua. She has found that this mix of studying both business and languages allows her to work hard at connecting with the people around her, as well as broadening the opportunities of those that she is able to connect with. Alongside academics, she is also highly interested in finding more sustainable solutions to how today’s society interacts with its environment. Lastly, Kaylee greatly enjoys constantly diving into new, interesting endeavors, leading to a long list of hobbies and interests. Some of these include hip hop dance, writing and poetry, archery, knife throwing, and playing the ukulele.
Angela Heaney
Tinia Larkins
Mick Rash