Innovation and Ingenuity Fuel Projects Day

This year, when Seattle University’s Project Center presents its 38^th annual Projects Day, it will once again put on display the culmination of months of work by science and engineering students on real-world projects sponsored by dozens of companies, organizations and nonprofits. Among these sponsors are Costco, Boldens Product Development Services and The Feels Foundation. Here’s a closer look at a few projects:

Boldens Product Development Services

Sponsor: Boldens Product Development Services (Jon Bolden and Allyson Velasquez)
Project: The VirTruVitron 7000
Student Team: Trevor Dahl, Marco Sahagun, Ashley Teofilo Sarria and Joanna Van Liew
Faculty Advisor(s): Shen Ren, PhD, assistant teaching professor, mechanical engineering

When Seattle University engineering students took on the VirTruVitron 7000 project—the brainchild of pro boxer Jon Bolden—as one of the projects through the Project Center, instead of trying to build a full-scale prototype of the innovative exercise machine, they thought smaller.

“Our priority was instead of building the machine to how it's supposed to be, which is over six feet tall, making a scaled down model so that they could bring it to investors,” says senior mechanical engineering and math major Joanna Van Liew. For their capstone project she and teammate Trevor Dahl worked on the CAD design and a 3D printing model of the entire machine.

The second deliverable was developing a model of the machine's internal pulley system, so the group of four broke into two teams. 

Mechanical engineering major Ashley Teofilo Sarria was on the team that used CAD to design the small-scale model, which would then be produced using the 3D printer. Teofilo Sarria and Marco Sahagun worked on developing the pulley model.

“A lot of it wasn't building a machine from scratch, but it was kind of really creating small details from scratch,” says Teofilo Sarria. “That way they can showcase the features and then create a separate pulley system that kind of shows what's going on inside”

This is the third year Bolden Produce Development Services (PDS) has partnered with the Project Center and it sought to capitalize on the growing expertise of Seattle University mechanical engineering students after Allyson Velasquez, Jon’s partner, began researching ways to access design help. She says the students served as their guide to the technical details needed to bring the vision to life, but in doing so Jon and Allyson enjoyed the process.

That isn’t to say the process of building the model was easy, but that has also been a point of pride for the fitness influencers.

“Each team has had to push past limitations and restrictions whether it be knowledge, time, equipment, Jon’s patent, etc.,” says Velasquez, who adds that that she enjoys seeing the trepidation at the start of the project on Day 1 and then on Project’s Day seeing the students’ confidence when presenting their work.

The student team: Trevor Dahl, Joanna Van Liew, Marco Sahagun and Ashley Teofilo Sarria.

“It feels amazing to have had this opportunity to receive this high-quality work from them but also to give them something to sink their teeth into,” she says.

The idea behind the exercise machine is to provide a strength-training solution that engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously, different from most exercise machines, promoting proportional strength building, joint health and core activation. BoldenPDS’ vision would have the machine also be able to adjust to fit different body types and accessibility levels.

The preparation mechanical engineering students go through before they take on their senior projects is rigorous and includes a sequence of engineering design and technical communication courses. It’s through this coursework that students train for what comes next.

“Senior design projects often come with ambiguity, evolving expectations and technical setbacks,” says Dr. Shen Ren, PhD, the faculty advisor on the project. “Navigating these uncertainties while maintaining team cohesion and making steady progress tested both their engineering skills and resilience.”

The Feels Foundation

Project: Build a new e-commerce experience, via an app, that creates a platform for emerging artists to feature and sell their work.
Sponsor: Feels Foundation (Zachary Self, co-founder)
Student Team: Moises Bustos, Samuel Hart, Kevin Wang and Hans Lidahl
Faculty Advisor(s): James Obare, PhD and Burkhard Englert, PhD

When Seattle-based nonprofit The Feels Foundation—an organization that supports artists and fosters creative expression—was in a need of a digital solution to support said artists, they turned to the Project Center.

The task: Build a user-friendly, new e-ecommerce experience—called After Market—where emerging artists can create profiles, showcase and sell their work, list events and more. There is a need for this type of app in the arts space particularly for those artists where technology is not a strong suit or there is a level of discomfort or unease in how to showcase their work while engaging with audiences.

By streamlining the process of sharing and monetizing art, the app empowers artists—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—to expand their reach and sustain their creative endeavors.

The experience has “been dynamic, a bit challenging to coordinate schedules but productive in the sense of actively creating a platform and utilizing the student’s core competencies to help execute at scale,” says Zachary Self, co-founder and board chair of The Feels Foundation, which is partnering with the Project Center for the third time.

While the building of the platform is ongoing, with additional features and support, the plan is to roll it out formally in 2026-27.

The student team working on the project includes Samuel Hart, a double major in computer science and mathematics. For Hart, learning tech communication skills, working with a team and presenting a product that has a real-world application are some of what he’s enjoyed most about this project.

“The primary skill I’ve learned is organization and teamwork. I’ve worked on group projects before, but this is the most rigorous and professional project I’ve been a part of,” says Hart. “I’ve had to adapt and learn how to communicate with my team, schedule meetings and create deadlines to get things done.”

Like many students who participate in these sponsored projects, they often come away with skills that build on what they learn in the classroom and can prove useful in their future career aspirations. “These skills are applicable outside of school,” says Hart. “Learning the scrum process, team communication and scheduling are all things that will be vital in any tech workplace. Since I will be looking for a job in that sector, I am grateful to have been a part of this project.”

Co-faculty advisor Burkhard Englert, PhD (who was co-advisor with former SU professor James Obare, PhD) agrees that good communication is critical in ensuring these projects are successful. 

“I believe that strengthening our communication with the sponsor is the key to the success of our capstone projects,” Englert says. “This connection can effectively bridge the gap between traditional higher education, which emphasizes a structured curriculum, and a more adaptable, industry-focused approach.”

As a repeat sponsor, what advice would Self offer other companies or organizations considering reaching out to the Project Center? “Be prepared to actively engage with students, be responsive and have a strategic plan with plenty of options that facilitate pivoting as needed or being flexible to adjust to new project outcomes. And level set deliverables for each learning cohort.”

Register for Projects Day—free and open to the public—today.

This is Part II of a two-part series spotlighting specific projects leading up to Projects Day on June 6. Check out our coverage of other projects in Part I.