Lupita Olais wants to own a coffee shop that uplifts artists and showcases their work. Jaiden Goodman is interested in international business and adding value to a company any way she can.

Olais and Goodman are two University of Iowa business students who have received the Tippie Top 21 award. Both are home state seniors, Olais from Orange City and Goodman from Camanche.

“It is an honor to be chosen for this award because I know there are a lot of incredible students in Tippie,” Olais said. “It means a lot to me.”

“I’m honored to even be considered,” Goodman said. “The University of Iowa — and especially the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center — have done so much for me. I have had so many great experiences with their competitions, classes, and all the professors have been a huge help. It has been nice to see my hard work paying off and being able to thank some of the people who have helped me along the way.”

The Tippie Top 21 award recognizes 21 of the college’s outstanding student leaders who have excelled in the areas of scholarship, leadership, experiential learning, and advancing diversity, inclusion, and global engagement.

Olais is receiving an entrepreneurial certificate, and wishes she was more involved with Iowa JPEC over the years. Two of her favorite classes were taught by Joe Sulentic, including a social entrepreneurship class that gave her perspective on how an owner could incorporate social responsibility into a business.

“It gave me a different view on how to help the world instead of always being about profits, profits, profits,” Olais said.

Referring to herself as a “relationship-type person,” Olais already has a vision for her dream business.

“I want to open my own coffee shop that incorporates art with it,” she said. “Giving underrepresented and underground artists a platform and place to showcase their artwork and uplift those voices.”

Goodman will graduate with degrees in marketing and entrepreneurial management with a minor in Spanish. She enjoyed an entrepreneurial class — also taught by Sulentic — and decided to pursue an entrepreneurial management degree because of the course. She completed an internship through Iowa JPEC, working for a Nigerian agri-tech business and competed in the 2021 NASBITE International Student Case Competition.

Goodman has been accepted into graduate school at the University of Iowa, where she will participate in the MBA program in Cimba, Italy.

As for the future?

“I want to do anything with international business,” Goodman said. “I am keeping the possibilities wide open, but I know I want to help others and be able to add value in any way I can. I want to work for, or start, a company that shares my values.”

The other Tippie Top 21 award winners are Meg Biznek, Gustavo Campos, Karter Donahue, Yi Duan, Maggie Dunham, Allie Gilchrist, Emily Hagedorn, Cami Hunter, David (Sangyub) Kim, Meghan Maleri, Cole Martin, Isabel Martinez, Brandon Parejko, Karishma Patel, Stephanie Saxe, Hunter Stevens, Andrew Tribbey, Izzie Wilcox, and Anna Zinselmeier.