University Marketing & Communications: Layton Shumway | 801-863-6863 | LShumway@uvu.edu
Written by: Barbara Christiansen
Utah Valley University student entrepreneur Santiago Gallardo earned first place in November in the Utah chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (EO GSEA), a competition for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university. He is a senior in the UVU Woodbury School of Business.
His company is Logistics Identity Technology, which meets a demand at universities and colleges in the country and world, according to Mark Seastrand, Director of the Entrepreneurship Institute in the Woodbury School of Business.
Gallardo’s win qualifies him to represent Utah in the national finals competition in the spring in Kansas City.
“Winning this competition is extremely important to me, and I’m so proud to be representing Utah student entrepreneurs,” Gallardo said. “I’m especially grateful to the EO GSEA chapter for giving me the opportunity to share my business’s vision and network with some of the world’s top entrepreneurs.”
UVU’s Entrepreneurship Institute hosted the competition for the second consecutive year. It included six Woodbury student entrepreneurs.
“All the students did an exceptional job,” Seastrand said. “There is no denying the momentum that (Santiago’s company) LIT is experiencing now and that no doubt will continue in the future.”
The Utah EO GSEA chapter is no stranger to the global organization’s winners’ circle and has birthed two global winners, as well as one national winner. The chapter has grown at its fastest rate in the chapter’s history with membership standing at 83 members. EO GSEA Utah partners include Diversified Insurance, FMV, Wells Fargo, Utah Business Magazine, Tanner, Holland and Hart, Buckner, Preferred CFO, and Corporate Alliance. EO GSEA supports student entrepreneurs who require much needed mentorship, recognition and connections to take their businesses to the next level of success.
“EO GSEA is bringing the world’s leading speakers and visionaries to the students’ doorstep,” said EO GSEA Utah chair Craig M. Porter Rollins. “Once they join the chapter, there’s no limit to the ingenuity and innovation at the chapter events. They can enhance their own leadership and become engaged to create an enhanced local, regional or global experience — they quickly become leaders among leaders. It’s a path to leadership that includes, among others, local committees, board positions, regional councils, global advisory task forces and committees in specialized functions.”
More information on the Woodbury School of Business Entrepreneurship is available at http://www.uvu.edu/entrepreneurship. Information about EO GSEA may be found at http://www.gsea.org.
Fourth region (Section 1)