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== Introduction ==
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4d6b2c10-768f-d5ab-1aa9-0d6de1847c51"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Launched in March 2015 by Epicenter’s University Innovation Fellows, the #uifresh (University Innovation Freshmen) program blossomed as part of a several White House </span>[httphttps://universityinnovationfellowswww.whitehouse.orggov/the-press-office/2015/03/20150323uifresh23/ <span style="fontfact-sheet-president-obama-size: 13.3333px; fontannounces-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); backgroundover-color: transparent; text240-decoration: underline; verticalmillion-align: baseline; whitenew-space: prestem-wrap;">collection of commitmen initiatives]</span>] <span style="font-size: 13.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">during the 5th Annual White House Science Fair. Leaders and Fellows from 10 schools committed to exposing incoming students at their schools to entrepreneurship, design thinking, creativity and innovation as part of freshmen orientation. Today, </span>[http://universityinnovationfellows.org/uifresh-29-schools-collaborate-on-national-initiative-to-attract-retain-new-stem-students/ <span style="font-size: 13.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">30 schools</span>] <span style="font-size: 13.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">across the United States have committed to participate in #uifresh. Members of the initiative believe that early exposure to entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and design thinking are powerful tools to engage and retain STEM students (a report published by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology indicates that 60% of U.S. freshmen who arrive to college intending to major in STEM change majors to non-STEM disciplines). As University Innovation Fellows, we believe an engaging student experience can be established by connecting freshmen with a community of STEM professionals, and fostering meaningful relationships with both peers and instructors — i.e. students like YOU.</span></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4d6b2c10-768f-d5ab-1aa9-0d6de1847c51"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Need a shining example of a UIF student utilizing the #uifresh community to engage a diverse population of students, including STEM majors, on her campus? Look no further than Magann Dykema of Michigan Technological University. As a first-year student, Magann quickly realized the need to introduce design thinking to students early in their undergraduate career. She noticed trends in innovation occurring regularly among upperclassmen, but building innovation seemed a more arduous process for first and second year students — Insert #uifresh. As an orientation leader aiding incoming students in their transition from high school to undergrad, Magann worked with a multitude of departments to bring a #uifresh initiative to her campus with design thinking in mind. In this article, we will illustrate Magann’s process behind launching this initiative at her university and how to measure the success of your own #uifresh initiative.</span></span>
