Miami, St. X grads create entrepreneurship scholarship

Four Miami University alumni who all graduated from Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School joined forces in a unique way to support both schools.

Michael Markesbery (2015, zoology), Co-Founder and CEO of Oros; Dan Pfeil (2018 mechanical engineering and molecular biology), Investment Manager at Techstars; Tsavo Knott (2018, interactive media studies and computer science), Co-Founder and CEO of Pieces for Developers; and Jason Holland (2001, supply chain operations and management), President and Chief Business Officer at Firework, are all proponents and supporters of Miami’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship. The four have combined financial resources to establish the St. Xavier-Miami University Entrepreneurship Scholarship.

Pfeil commented, “I am delighted by this partnership between St. Xavier and Miami University and to support the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded students. Both of these organizations were instrumental in my development, so it is great to see them come together in this way. St. Xavier encouraged me to grow as a complete person, and Miami University allowed me the opportunity to pursue multidisciplinary ideas. I am excited to see the impact that these students are able to achieve.”

Markesbery added, “Tsavo Knott, Jason Holland, Dan Pfeil, and I are honored to support the next generation of entrepreneurs through the establishment of the St. Xavier-Miami University Entrepreneurship scholarship.  Each of us, as St. X/Miami grads, attribute part of our entrepreneurial success to the tremendous support and encouragement that we received from our mentors, teachers, family, and friends. We founded this scholarship to pay forward a small portion of the support that we each have received from these esteemed institutions and their communities/alumni.”

Their donation was doubled by the Farmer Family Foundation matching gift offer, creating a six-figure scholarship endowment which will support future graduates of St. Xavier’s entrepreneurship program who are enrolled at Miami University and co-majoring or minoring in entrepreneurship.

Tim Holcomb, Chair & Director, John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship, stated, “I am very excited for the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with St. Xavier High School. The school has an outstanding entrepreneurship program, and their upcoming pitch competition provides their students and those from many other schools, to “practice what they teach,” and we could not be happier to be able to support their efforts. This gift will enable the Department of Entrepreneurship to offer scholarships and comprehensive support to some of the brightest entrepreneurship talent in the region enrolled at Miami. I could not be more thankful for this incredible gift.”