The Pitch Dingman semi-finals was an event that showcased 10 start-ups all from UMD students. Each entrepreneur got two minutes to pitch their start-up idea to a panel of judges with one minutes of questions at the end. Though the event lasted well past the scheduled time, I never lost interest. I was amazed by the huge range of ideas that there were just within 10 companies-- everything from food items to credit scores to concerts to class scheduling. I for some reason didn’t think there would be this diverse of a group. It was a very inspiring event because these were UMD students, just like me, already getting started on their own companies. It was so cool to see that the UMD was encouraging this-- I didn’t know a lot about the entrepreneurship aspect of UMD before coming here. It was also nice to hear that they have a specific program to help women who want to be entrepreneurs since there is such a gap in the industry. I have not necessarily thought about being an entrepreneur, but I do feel very encouraged and welcomed by the staff of the Dingman center. If I ever have an idea in the future, I would love to go in and talk to them about growing my idea. Pitch Dingman was a really valuable event that I’m so glad I attended.