Creativity on display: OSU-Cascades showcases Outdoor Products students’ final projects
(Update: full story, instructor and student interviews, adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Students in the Outdoor Product program at OSU-Cascades had the opportunity to share their final projects with the public.
The interdisciplinary program spans two terms. It requires students go from the research phase to a buy-ready prototype in about six months, mirroring the actual timeline of the industry.
Students this year - who worked independently or with a group - created products they felt met a need in the outdoor products market.
Naomi Morrison, an instructor for the Outdoor Products program, told KTVZ News, “Students are focusing on hard goods and soft goods. They might be looking at apparel. They might be working on gear.”
Environmental considerations also played a large role in many of the projects. “They're really focused on sustainability. They really think about how do we make sure that the products we are making are going to help the environment,” said Morrison.
SnoPlanks - a local snowboard company donated to OSU-Cascades for students to practice real-life business skills on - was the focus of some projects.
We spoke with one student, Jaili Moffitt, about her all-female group’s SnoPlanks product - a snowboard meant specifically for women.
Moffitt told us, “I’ve always been passionate about getting women out on the mountain, and so I saw a way for me to show my passion through my work.”
The idea of creating a product related to their own interests attracted other students on campus to the showcase to learn more about the program. Moffitt, originally an engineering student, said this project helped her to realize marketing is truly her passion. Other students in her group had similar realizations.
“I have seen so much growth in my team and the ten people that I work with. We all come from different backgrounds, different experiences, in different majors,” said Moffitt.
To learn more about the OSU-Cascade’s Outdoor Products program, you can visit its dedicated site here.
