Image by Ed Brennen
Sophomore chemical engineering major Brady Devlin speaks to judges in the finals of the 60-Second Pitch Competition, held recently at the Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center. Devlin won the People's Choice Award.
Seven years ago, Sanjedah Haque’s family moved from Bangladesh to the United States with “nothing but ambition and an accent I was once insecure about.”
The junior business major turned her personal story into a first-place prize of $500 at UMass Lowell’s inaugural 60-Second Pitch Competition, held recently at the Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center.
“Communicating an idea clearly in just 60 seconds was a real challenge,” said Haque, a management information systems student and member of the UML Sales Team student organization. “Preparing for this pushed me to refine my message, work through nerves and become more confident in my delivery.”
The competition brought together 40 students from the Manning School of Business and the Francis College of Engineering for two preliminary rounds judged by panels of three industry professionals.
Image by Ed Brennen
Junior business major Sanjedah Haque, center, won the 60-Second Pitch Competition, while sophomore Anthony Arena, right, took second and Cole Stepanik, left, was third.
Students highlighted academic achievements and leadership experiences and explained their career goals. Judges evaluated clarity, structure, confidence and overall impact.
Arena, a sophomore double-majoring in business and economics, earned a second-place prize of $250. He said the competition represented a personal challenge.
“Public speaking is absolutely something that I’ve been afraid of,” the Stoneham native said. “I’ve had shaking legs during presentations. But I wanted to move toward what I’m afraid of.”
Stepanik, a junior with concentrations in finance and accounting, took third place and $100.
Devlin, a sophomore chemical engineering major (nuclear engineering option), was selected by his peers as the People’s Choice Award winner, which came with a $100 prize donated by judge Paul Makris ’91, a mechanical engineering alum and senior director at Honeywell.
Makris said the event reflected the growing intersection of business and engineering.
Image by Ed Brennen
A 60-Second Pitch Competition participant greets a judge during the preliminary round.
To that end, engineering majors embraced the opportunity to strengthen communication skills.
“My hook was that I’m studying computer engineering because I failed,” said sophomore R.J. Portacion, describing how blowing up a motherboard while building a PC in high school sparked his interest in hardware. “Engineers learn technical skills. But opportunities like this help us sell ourselves.”
The judging panel included UML alumni Brandon Fish ’25 (VSI Login), Brian Geaudreau ’09 (Hancock Associates), Surbhi Kanthed ’19 (Red Hat), Mark Pandolfo ’06 (Kitchens Culinary) and Bill Yelle ’85 (FireCyte Therapeutics).
Image by Ed Brennen
A dozen industry professionals, including six UML alumni, volunteered to serve as judges in the competition.
“The street that once separated the Manning School of Business and the Francis College of Engineering disappeared in spirit,” said Associate Teaching Professor of Marketing Deb Casey ’12, who helped organize the competition alongside Nuzhat Alamgir, director of the Francis College’s Shah Academy of Innovation and Leadership.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Casey offered training sessions to help students craft and refine their one-minute pitches.
Rist Family Endowed Dean of Business Bertie Greer, who proposed the competition last semester, told students that the ability to clearly articulate a one-minute elevator pitch was a critical professional skill.
“This is an important tool — something you should always have in your back pocket,” Greer said. “Even if you don’t win, you win.”