On March 24, 2026, Pittsburg State hosted the first ever IDEA Fest, an event designed to give entrepreneurs in college the opportunity to present their business ideas. This took place in the ballrooms of the Overman Student Center, where the participants set up tables to display their concepts. Some had food available for people to buy, while most had either a business or idea to present. The entire event was judged by volunteer judges, and the three presenters who had the most votes at the end won $500 scholarships.
Gabriel Tenório Tamaoki Junqueira is a master’s student in his second semester of studying polymer chemistry and also serves as the president of the Brazilian Students Association (BRASA). He was there with several other members of BRASA to sell brigadeiros, a chocolate dessert similar to a truffle of fudge ball. Some of the newer members of BRASA wanted to be able to have the same organization hoodies as the older members, so they spent hours making the desserts to raise the money for them. “The new Brazilian students are very excited and passionate about Brazil, so they really want to share our culture, and we can do that with our food,” Junqueira said. “We got the opportunity to come here and sell brigadeiros as a fundraiser. Also, [the new students] want the new hoodies that we made for the association, so we wanted to do this fundraiser for them,” Junqueira added.
Carly Reif started her small business during her junior year of high school. She is now in her junior year of college studying management and marketing and is still running the business she started four years ago. Warm and Fuzzy LLC is all about bringing a warm and fuzzy feeling to every customer through Reif’s handcrafted candles and fragrances, and she brought her company to present at IDEA Fest. Through the program, she has studied new ways to improve her marketing strategies and reach new customers, and IDEA Fest was the perfect way to put all of her experience and knowledge to the test. “I have such a passion for business and creativity, and this gives me an outlet to put my knowledge that I’m gaining as a business student to use,” Reif said.
Junqueira had a product he knew sold well on campus to fund his organization, and Reif brought her small business, but there were others who had a different approach to IDEA Fest. Madison Sheehy, a sophomore business marketing major, and Breckin Galardo, a sophomore in construction management major emphasizing business management, were there pitching an existing game. They were introduced to the owner of a small business called WooshBall in their business class. After playing the game, they decided to introduce as many people as they could to this little-known game after seeing its potential.
Some students brought fully fledged-out businesses, and others were there with an idea to get constructive criticism and advice on newer endeavors. Each student brought an idea and left with something more than what they came in with.