2024 - Anika Rai

Anika Rai a standout alumna of TYE, has achieved remarkable success since her time with the program. She spearheaded the Student Ambassador Program at TYE for two years, leaving a lasting impact with a well-structured plan for future ambassadors. Anika was also a key member of the Melaknow team, which clinched victory in the 2018 TYE Global Competition with an innovative app for primary care physicians.

Following her TYE experience, Anika pursued her entrepreneurial passion at Babson College, graduating with honors in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, focusing on Finance and Business Analytics. She joined K1 Investment Management post-graduation, where she now evaluates growth equity and buyout opportunities in enterprise software and leads M&A initiatives. Anika attributes her career path to the inspiration and skills she gained at TYE.

2023 - Narren Gaurav

Naren met a group of like-minded individuals in an online founder community, and together they developed a business idea. Although they never met in person, their friendship grew during the COVID pandemic and the rise of online communities. This inspired them to create software addressing a gap that emerged from the pandemic.

Naren and his co-founders launched Altr to help community managers at startups and larger businesses grow their communities and translate that value into positive business outcomes.

Within a few months of Altr’s soft launch, user numbers scaled to over 3 million across 250+ communities. This growth attracted interest from other companies, leading to Altr’s acquisition by Commsor.com in January 2022 for a sum in the low 7 figures.

2022 - Ashley Lin

Ashley Lin is currently a student of the University of Pennsylvania Management & Technology Program. She was a 2018 TYE program participant but then continued to participate in TYE through student leadership. Ashley had a tremendous impact in TYE. Beginning with her first year, building and leading the team for Summer App to being appointed as student director in the Community Program for the 2020-2021 school year.

And to top it all off, she also managed to find time to write and publish a book (during the pandemic) while wrapping up her senior year of high school and TYE.

2022 - Serendipity Lang

At the time of the award, Serendipity (Sera) Lang was a senior at McDaniel High School and a 2021 TYE program participant. Sera has been the owner of a slime company since middle school where she sells slime online.

When she became part of the TYE program, she wanted her team to do something more important for the community around them, and that is when they created The Hive. The Hive is a spot where houseless teens can be fed, get help with school, enjoy learning fun activities, and work with mentors. Within weeks, Sera and her female led team had created a pitch deck and participated in the TYE State Competition. Although they did not win the competition, Sera and her team received funding to bring their vision to life.