CREATIVATE celebrates creativity and innovation

As part of the annual CREATIVATE event, Lehigh University’s Baker Institute selected 20 projects produced by Lehigh students, faculty and staff who double as inventors, business owners, artists and authors. 

The Baker Institute, Lehigh’s hub for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, hosted the CREATIVATE event on Oct. 19 at the Wilbur Powerhouse.

“CREATIVATE is like a science fair, but a party,” said Lisa Getzler, executive director of the Baker Institute. “It is about recognition of the creativity that individuals have and celebrating it in ways that are sometimes limited to athletics or the performing arts.” 

The presenters, also known as the CREATIVATORS, each had their own table and display to exhibit their ideas and businesses to alumni, students and faculty.

Brittany Pierzga, marketing and media manager at the Baker Institute and head coordinator for CREATIVATE, said one of her goals while planning this event was to have a diverse panel, which she feels was achieved. 

The event featured CREATIVATORS from many different backgrounds, disciplines, interests and programs. The panel of presenters included graduate students from the Technical Entrepreneurship Program, researchers on Mountaintop projects, Baker Institute students, student-led departments and independent businesses. 

Giavanna Gast, ‘24, presented her and her team’s eco-friendly Mountaintop project called EcoRelm. The ultimate goal of their project is to bring plants into the workplace. 

“The team is designing plant incorporated infrastructure in order to decrease work-induced stress, because it has been shown that when people are around nature, they are less stressed, they are more mindful and they gain additional psychological benefits,” Gast said.  

Gast said her team applied and ultimately presented at CREATIVATE to network and connect with people who are also interested in the creative process. 

She said her team was happy to receive constructive feedback from attendees as they plan to accelerate their project this coming semester. 

“Our team gained interesting insight regarding our value proposition and how we can best tailor our project to potential customers,” Gast said. 

Independent business owner Alaijah Bordon, ‘25, presented her press-on nails business, Nails So Lovely. 

Bordon said her inspiration for Nails So Lovely came to fruition because in much of the engineering field, having long painted nails is not permitted. She wanted to offer individuals the option of affordable and easily removable nails. 

Bordon said she takes pride in how her business involves both the customer’s inner creativity and imagination, as well as her own. 

“My business inspires creativity and allows customers who do not have the skills to do their own nails to create something that is their own,” Bordon said. 

Customers can choose to order a set of nails from a pre-existing design, fill out a survey to get matched with a design, or create their own design, which Bordon will replicate onto the nails. 

Bordon said she is grateful to have been a part of CREATIVATE, as it allowed her to gain exposure for her business, as well as meet those with a passion for creation. 

Pierzga said she was happy with the large turnout CREATIVATE had, especially being the Baker Institute’s first in-person campus-wide event of the school year. She said she looks forward to hosting more of these celebrations.