Apex Center Annual Impact Report, FY 20-21

The 2020-21 academic year was an extraordinary year by any measure. It was a year of a global pandemic, an economic recession, unprecedented government actions, turbulent elections, and deeply felt social and racial injustice. It was a time when organizations discovered what they really were and reimagined what they might become. Throughout this past year, as events unfolded, we were there to support our students and provide an outlet to be creative, to build and grow their companies and explore the many facets of starting and launching a new venture. Most importantly, we built a community, albeit, mostly virtual. Our students connected with each other, learned with each other, challenged each other, built relationships with our alumni mentors and pushed the status quo in everything they did. We accomplished this by staying true to our mission of inspiring and empowering our students to turn their passion, purpose and ideas into action. Thanks to an outpouring of support and engagement from our students, faculty and alumni, we have many accomplishments from this past year to celebrate. ● Ranked #25 undergraduate entrepreneurship program nationally in Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine ● Launch of new Startup Hokies incubator and accelerator programs ● New advisory board leadership - John Kinzer (Chair), Kim Shanahan (Vice Chair) and Paul Lombardi (Vice Chair & Lead EIR) While substantial work lies ahead, we are committed to fostering a world-class, inclusive, environment that unleashes creativity, cultivates vision, and teaches the governing principles that are the foundation of every successful enterprise. Let’s keep building together!