The “Marxent Prize” — aka, The WSU Scholarship for Women in Engineering — is a one-year scholarship awarded annually to returning juniors interested in software development, gaming, 3D animation, computer vision and other emerging tech attending Wright State University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Handed out since 2014, the Marxent Prize bolsters the education of WSU students by providing both financial assistance and real world experience.
Emily Novak, a 2016 Marxent Prize winner, turned her scholarship into a full time position with Marxent after joining the company in 2018.
“This scholarship helped me tremendously in my pursuit of my computer science degree,” she says. “It allowed me to not worry about how I was going to pay tuition for a whole year, which allowed me to focus more on my studies instead of my finances. This scholarship meant so much to me in not only my personal life, but showed me how much companies in the Dayton area, especially Marxent Labs, care and want to help college students grow as they pursue a career in their dream job.”
There’s more to the Marxent Prize than just money, as the company sees it as an invaluable way to recruit local standouts for high-tech jobs in Ohio.
“The goal is always to grant an internship with the scholarship,” says Casey Spille, Marxent’s HR Manager. “By combining the two we get to know these students a little better, and make a more informed decision as to who could be a great fit at Marxent.”
In addition to the experience, a scholarship like the Marxent Prize can be instrumental in setting up students for their financial future.
“When I received the scholarship from Marxent Labs I was very grateful,” explains 2016 recipient Jenna Rahrig. “I was a Junior at Wright State University, going to school full time and working as an intern 20-30 hours a week so I could pay for normal living expenses and school fees. I was taking out student loans each year to pay for tuition and this scholarship helped decrease the amount I had to take out in loans for the year.”
“We’re especially interested in applicants with practical experience developing or publishing apps and who are already pursuing their interests as hobbies,” says Barry Besecker, Marxent’s CTO and a Wright State graduate.
Here is the scholarship requirements for the Marxent Prize:
- Successful applicant must be a (at least) a returning sophomore with a demonstrated interest in and inclination towards software development, computer programing, and
- Have a demonstrated passion for computer visualization, 3D animation, image or object recognition, virtual and Augmented Reality and other emerging technologies such as wearable’s,
- Have a software portfolio to show that they have actually tried to create/program/build their own games and or built or published a mobile app,
- Have demonstrated experience working in a team environment, leadership skills, intrinsic curiosity in gaming and emerging tech and high motivation to pursue this curiosity.
- Have successfully completed WSU CECS CS 1180-1181 Courses
- Preference must be given to females
- If the recipient is interested, they will be granted an internship interview as a part of the scholarship. However, this is not required.
For more information on how to apply for the Marxent Prize, contact the WSU College of Engineering and Computer Science.
