Student Entrepreneurship Expo showcasing Boilermaker creativity
MADE
AAARCC (915 5th St)
Spring 2026 // AAARCC Lunch & Learn Series
March 27
Photobooth rental & photo strip printing Servicing on-campus student organization events
MArch 27, 2026 Program
Peter Pham
How entrepreneurship is a way to solve problems and share solutions What personal, economic, cultural, and community aspects of entrepreneurship are apparent or relevant to their journey How students overcame challenges and setbacks in their entrepreneurship journey
showcase presenters
Linzzi Ji
Dalena Phan
Photography for visibility, communication, and storytelling Language barriers and accessibility in healthcare
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Song (Theo) Nguyen
Shahnaz Safitri
Tech accessories for exploring niche interests and workflows
Attendees will walk around the AAARCC (915 5th St) to visit booths featuring student entrepreneurs to learn:
The Student Entrepreneurship Expo is part of the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) Spring 2026 Lunch and Learn series and is co-sponsored by Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSG). This event is free and open to all Boilermakers. Lunch will be provided for attendees.
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Talent development center for individuals and organizations Data-driven approaches to personal and professional growth
Online community platform to help international students navigate the US, build real friendships, and feel at home
MADE: The AAARCC’s Spring 2026 programming theme grows out of the everyday yet meaningful moments that shape life in our cultural center. It begins with students cooking and sharing meals together, and with staff gathering in the quieter weeks at the end of the semester, preparing food or eating our home-made lunch box after students have gone home. Between chopping vegetables, stir-frying, and plating dishes, conversations naturally unfolded—revealing the deeply personal ways food connects us to memory, culture, and aspiration. We spoke about recipes and measurements (or the absence of them), about grandparents and family members who passed down knowledge through taste rather than instruction, and about the fruits, vegetables, and ingredients that carry stories of home. These conversations also opened space for dreams: reconnecting with elders to learn a single cherished recipe, traveling the world, opening food-based businesses, and imagining pathways for our communities to address food insecurity with care and creativity. From these shared moments emerged MADE: Asian American Histories of Making, Innovation, and Enterprise as our guiding theme for the semester. Through this lens, we explore how acts of making, whether artistic, culinary, intellectual, or entrepreneurial, are deeply tied to both joy and struggle in Asian American histories. We will examine the idea of being “self-made” by situating creativity, innovation, and enterprise within broader histories of migration, resilience, and the continual remaking of spaces and communities. This semester, the AAARCC invites Boilermakers to engage with the histories and theories behind making and creativity, while grounding them in lived experience at Purdue. Our programs will ask: How do we imagine and move through the world? How can we think critically about how books, media, and popular culture shape our understanding of identity and possibility? Where can student leaders and entrepreneurs find support, mentorship, and community as they create something new? Through MADE, we celebrate the everyday acts of creation that sustain us, honor the histories that shape us, and imagine futures we build together.
Asian American Histories of Making, Innovation, & Enterprise
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Every year, over one million students arrive in the US with the academic credentials to succeed. But there's nobody to tell them how to navigate the cultural gap, build real friendships, or feel at home. I'm building a community platform that helps international students quickly adapt and truly belong. Our model connects three groups: newly arrived students, experienced internationals who've been through it, and local Americans who want to bridge cultures. Through online forums, peer matches, and hands-on support, we create the kind of warm community you can't Google your way into.
Bridgit Community
I’m passionate about entrepreneurship, building products, and turning ideas into real that help people. I enjoy exploring new ideas, meeting new people, and working on challenging problems. Previously, I developed VenTong, a language- learning application that helps users learn languages through AI-generated articles. The system embeds target vocabulary and grammar into real-world contexts, making language learning more natural and practical. This is the best era. The world is changing rapidly, and change creates opportunities. And This is the best time for us who are in 20s. We have the freedom to explore, experiment, and take risks. If I know there is an idea can change the world, there’s no better time to start building than now.
Business Partner Eileen Koh, Undergraduate Student in Computer Science
3rd Year Undergraduate Student Computer Systems Analysis & Design
Follow on LinkedIn ji257@purdue.edu
song (theo) Nguyen
As a first-generation immigrant, growing up surrounded by live animals allowed me to develop an interest and passion for my career choice of veterinary medicine. I am also actively involved in organizations such as the Vietnamese Student Association and the Asian Student Union Board to spread cultural awareness and diversity to others. I plan on further continuing my education to receive a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine while also being involved in organizations that allow me to integrate my identity and culture into my desired career field.
pin'd booth
4th Year Undergraduate Student Animal Sciences Pre-Vet Medicine
Pin'd photobooth experience is designed to elevate any event, from college formals and club banquets to private celebrations and corporate gatherings. We focus on creating beautiful, high-quality keepsakes that capture the energy, personality, and excitement of your event. With clean studio lighting, aesthetic backdrops, custom-designed frames, and premium prints, every photo becomes a moment your guests actually want to take home. We understand your vision so we can tailor the experience to your event, whether that’s fun and playful, elegant and modern, or themed and immersive. Just fill out a few details, and we’ll handle the rest. We can’t wait to bring your event to life!
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Follow on LinkedIn
Recent Graduate B.S. Mechanical Engineering
lifestyle niches tech accessories
As a mechanical engineering student, I implemented what I learned in classes to help develop products that innovatively tackles everyday problems and/or needs. Doing so gave me the drive to do well in my classes as well as expanding on what is taught to me via real product delivery. Coming to Lunch & Learn Entrepreneurship Expo, I look for a chance to gather inputs for my latest prototypes and evaluate their market potential. I am currently seeking full-time opportunities in the U.S. in product management, mechanical/design engineering, and product development, where I can contribute at the intersection of user needs, technical execution, and cost-conscious decision-making.
Khoa (Peter) Pham
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Through my photography business, I provide professional photography services that help individuals (and hopefully organizations and brands one day) visually share their stories, promote their work, celebrate their wins, and capture meaningful moments. Many students, community groups, and small organizations do not always have access to affordable, high-quality photography for events, branding, or outreach, and my goal is to make visual storytelling more accessible.
LEns by dalena
Through both projects, I aim to highlight the importance of visibility, communication, and storytelling. Whether this is through photography, by capturing impactful moments, or tools that support public health professionals and healthcare providers in their work.
Follow on Instagram
I am a Master of Public Health student and entrepreneur with a passion for visual storytelling and health equity. Through my photography business, I capture meaningful moments that last beyond the present. I also advocate for marginalized populations, especially those with limited English proficiency, because access to health care should be a human right.
Language Communication Badge Buddy
In addition to my photography work, I developed a “Badge Buddy” as part of my MPH practicum this past summer. This tool helps healthcare providers better interact with their patients where English communication may be a barrier for the patient. The project addresses the challenge of inaccessible healthcare due to language barriers.
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Shahnaz is a psychologist with a research focus on giftedness and creativity, talent development, students' social-emotional development and well-being, and program evaluation. With a commitment to shaping future generations, she strives to be both a rigorous researcher and a dedicated mentor to emerging scholars and professionals in education. Alongside her academic work, she leads Apshara Talent Development Center, where she supports initiatives in self-development and growth. Her work combines data-driven research and practice to contribute thoughtfully to individual and organizational development.
PhD Candidate, College of Education Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies
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Brendha's research interests include gifted underachievement, physical activity and sports-based interventions, methodological pluralism in giftedness research, and Open Science. She currently serves as an academic coordinator for a talent development enrichment program designed to support and challenge students from diverse backgrounds, reflecting her commitment to inclusive talent development for all learners. As an emerging entrepreneur and advocate, she works to expand awareness and improve support systems for gifted learners in Indonesia through research, training, and speaking engagements with Apshara.co.
Brendha C. Tanujaya
Apshara Talent Development Center is an accredited talent development center based in Indonesia, established in 2021 under Apshara Multi Kreasi, LLC. It focuses on helping individuals and organizations achieve authentic self-development by first understanding themselves better—embracing the idea of becoming their best self. Apshara.co provides services such as psychological assessments, research-based interventions and psycho-educational programs tailored for individuals and groups (including schools, companies, SMEs, and startups). Apshara.co addresses the common challenge of untapped potential and ineffective human resource development by offering structured, data-driven approaches to personal and professional growth. Through its work, Apshara.co aims to optimize learning and working performance, strengthen quality human resources; ultimately supporting sustainable growth and success.
Instagram: apshara.co | Website: www.apshara.co | Email: hi@apshara.co LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apshara-co/
Apshara.co