A Master of Business Administration student and a recent computer science graduate from The University of Texas at Dallas each have been awarded $15,000 Mitchell Family Foundation Scholar Awards from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation.
Both Comets built their new-venture experience through food startups.
Mercedes Johnson BA’19, an MBA student in the Naveen Jindal School of Management, created Food Magnet, an app that helps customers find food trucks and food trucks find business. Rohit K. Shenoy BS’21, an alumnus of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, was a co-founder of CampusOven, a catered meal delivery service that focused on bringing fresh, healthy dining alternatives to students.
Johnson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in arts, technology, and emerging communication and now works as a principal user experience designer at Capital One, returned to UT Dallas to pursue her MBA after learning that the program offered a concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship.
While taking an innovation and entrepreneurship accelerator course during her first semester, she came up with the Food Magnet idea.
“My goal is to be a ‘serialpreneur,’” said Johnson, who wants to eventually start her own production company.
Shenoy, a National Merit Scholar and a Eugene McDermott Scholar, became involved with the UTD Entrepreneurship Club and the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Blackstone LaunchPad during his freshman year. He participated in the CometX Accelerator program; interned at Tech Wildcatters, a startup accelerator in Dallas; and was a venture analyst in the UT Dallas Seed Fund. The CampusOven team was a finalist in the 2020 Big Idea Competition.
“From talking to venture capitalists in the area, I truly believe that Texas will continue to grow rapidly and become a major center for entrepreneurial activity in the coming decade,” said Shenoy, who is now working to create a data mining and analysis startup. “And I look forward to being a part of this movement.”
The winners were announced via video by Gaurav Sethi BS’20, who was chief financial officer of CampusOven and earned a Mitchell Family Foundation Scholar Award last year. The awards were presented Oct. 28 at the Texas Business Hall of Fame Annual Scholar & Veteran Award Luncheon in Dallas.
The Texas Business Hall of Fame was formed in 1982 to honor outstanding business leaders in Texas and to inspire the leaders of the future by funding scholarships that help recipients pursue their business educations at Texas schools.
Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments of The University of Texas at Dallas faculty and students. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communications manager.