From problem to pitch

It was well after midnight when Charlotte Rotter's roommate was feeling sick. No one on their floor had a thermometer, and CVS had been closed for at least two hours.

"We felt helpless; there was nothing we could do," said Rotter, a first-year nursing student.

In a first-year, honors-level nursing course, taught by Assistant Professor Michelle DePhillips and Associate Professor Xiaopeng Ji, Rotter had to identify a campus challenge - and immediately recalled that moment. As she collaborated with classmates, they realized:

"There's nowhere after hours for students to access healthcare products," said Jared Ramos.

Students were then tasked with devising a creative solution to their challenge - applying the concept of design thinking, a human-centered problem-solving approach that starts with empathy. Ji, a College of Health Sciences (CHS) Design Thinking and Innovation Ambassador, encouraged students to think outside the box.

"Nursing begins with listening to a patient's concerns," said Ji. "As healthcare providers, we must understand the end user's lens and design interventions with and for them."

After polling students on campus, a group of five honors students pitched a vending machine stocked with healthcare items, such as toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, ice packs and thermometers, on the first floor of every residence hall at the Big Ideas Challenge during the 2025 Blue Hen Innovation Fest. Students could scan a QR code for product and healthcare information and pay with credit, cash or flex points.