The CREATE Institute at MSOE is dedicated to developing both the mindset and skillsets students need to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow by providing transformative learning experiences. To help achieve their mission, they have a cohort of CREATE Student Fellows who help foster the MSOE Mindset in their peers through events, workshops, training and support.

CREATE Student Fellows (CSF) are MSOE students employed by the CREATE Institute that offer project support and leadership mentoring for internal and external partners. The Fellows are MSOE ambassadors who embody the MSOE Mindset professionally and personally. The CSFs undergo extensive leadership training, utilizing servant-leadership principles and entrepreneurial mindset development to strengthen their leadership skills. These ambassadors are well-versed in the MSOE Mindset and lead projects with community partners hosted within the CREATE Institute.  

“I wanted to become a CREATE Student Fellow to strengthen my communication and leadership skills,” said Tony Petrowitz, mechanical engineering major and CREATE Student Fellow. “I also wanted to join because it seemed like it was a community of ambitious students who take pride in their work.”

Petrowitz was one of a dozen CREATE Student Fellows in the 2024-25 academic year. The cohort led workshops and assisted students in the Nelson Prototyping Lab in the Cove throughout the year. Together, they hosted a hands-on activity focused on the Servant-Leadership, a Cricut machine workshop, a Pass and Paint event and more. Not only are the CSFs gaining leadership skills and sharing their knowledge with others, they’re also making new connections across campus.

“Meeting new people is what excites me the most about being a CREATE Student Fellow,” said Claire Bradford, mechanical engineering major and Fellow. “Between the students and faculty that I work with, along with the students that use the lab often, I have been able to meet a lot of new people.”

A new cohort of CREATE Student Fellows will begin in the 2025-26 academic year to continue to foster the MSOE Mindset in students and create a sense of belonging amongst the MSOE community. Learn more by reading the Fellows’ profiles below or visiting msoe.edu/create.

2024-2025 CREATE Student Fellows

• Claire Bradford
• Yadira Chairez Neave
• Kristof Gandy
• Abigail Garcia
• Jorja Hamlin
• Tanner Lallensack
• Jacqueline Navarro
• Eduardo Ocampo
• Anthony Petrowitz
• Simon Restrepo
• Brian Reyna Flores
• Maggie Spitzbarth