Not every college student receives a special shout-out in the State of the County address, 但话说回来, 并不是每个大学生都像达纳·琼斯那样.  琼斯是一位企业家, 创新者, 也是一位网络大师，他创办了一家名为Accessadoor的公司, a phone app that breaks down barriers by making doors more accessible to those with disabilities.  从Dutchess Community College (DCC)转学至Marist, 琼斯进一步开发了Accessadoor, which is soon to begin a beta-testing phase on 150 doors across the campuses of Marist, DCC, 以及美国烹饪学院, 以及达奇斯县拥有的几栋建筑. 

琼斯, 从她在波基普西的家通勤到bet亚洲365欢迎投注, 从她记事起就开始创业了吗, constantly brainstorming ideas for companies and finding ways to get her friends involved.  她回忆道, 四年级的时候, I came up with an idea to start a party planning business and another one to start a cookie and lemonade stand at the Dutchess Rail Trail near my house.  我的思维一向具有逻辑性和分析性, which eventually led me to major in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship.”

如果需要是发明之母, then being in a wheelchair has strongly influenced 琼斯’ approach to innovation.  As she puts it, “Being disabled has helped me develop my creativity and problem-solving ability.  I have to think about the world differently than others who don’t face the same types of challenges.例如:, an able-bodied person might never consider that the button to open the door to a building can sometimes be out of reach or malfunctioning, leaving someone in a wheelchair waiting or reliant on a stranger for help.  They also don’t have to think about doors flying open or how to navigate a crowded hallway, 但这些考虑是琼斯日常生活的一部分.  “残疾给了你不同的视角.  如果没有轮椅，我永远不会有accessdooror的想法.”

That idea for the company came about when 琼斯 first started at DCC and realized that she couldn’t afford to miss a day of classes because of accessibility issues.  One day, she had to text a friend to help her exit a building, and she had a lightbulb moment.  如果她可以用手机来开门呢?  琼斯’ idea might not have advanced any further had she not attended a gala and connected with DCC President Pamela Edington and Karen Trovato, 拥有100多项专利的工程师.  他们都喜欢Accessadoor这个主意, and 琼斯’ project soon became a school-wide collaboration: DCC engineering student Jacob Ernst built the app and went on to become 琼斯’ partner in the venture, 而艺术系学生则创造了标志和品牌, 商科学生帮助撰写商业计划.  In addition, biology students are conducting a germ count analysis of building accessibility buttons.

当琼斯大三转到玛丽斯特大学时, she soon discovered an additional opportunity to propel her idea forward: the 2018 纽约 Regional Business Plan Competition, 是在学院举办的吗.  在比赛中, entrepreneurs are given 10 minutes to present their ideas to a panel of judges, 解释他们正在解决什么问题, 以及他们的想法将如何产生收益.  从不听天由命的人, 琼斯 spent three weeks practicing and refining her pitch in front of different audiences.  就在她演讲的那天, 她做了充分的准备, bringing an Accessadoor prototype and showing a promotional video she had made.  琼斯的准备得到了回报, 她赢得了1美元的一等奖,IT/软件部门的工资是000美元, 晋级到国家级商业计划大赛, 她的第二名在哪里赚了2美元,500美元的资金.

据琼斯说，她的突破时刻是在去年11月.  As she tells it, “Accessadoor has really been built on coincidences and networking.  在秋天, I spoke about my company at a DCC awards ceremony and had the chance to sit next to [Dutchess County Executive] Marc Molinaro.  He immediately asked to set up a meeting with me to learn more about Accessadoor’s logistics.  He and the rest of his team all loved my idea and actually increased the scope of where the app would be beta-tested.”  Molinaro highlighted 琼斯’ work in his State of the County address on February 27, praising both her entrepreneurial spirit and her efforts to make Dutchess County more inclusive for all.

琼斯 is also quick to give credit to those in the Marist community who have helped her along the way.  “[Associate Professor of 管理] David Gavin has been a big influence on me.  他对我的想法一直很有意见.“学院的教员们 物理治疗博士项目 也是琼斯作品的重要合作者吗.  She relates that “[Clinical Assistant Professor] Yvonne Egitto and [Assistant Professor] John McGee have both been extremely supportive, 给我出主意，帮我申请拨款.  It’s such a coincidence because Yvonne was actually my physical therapist when I was five years old, 我们在bet亚洲365欢迎投注重新联系上了.  现在我帮她做功课.”

不能满足于她的荣誉, 琼斯 is already getting ready to pitch her next idea on April 12 at the 2019 纽约 Regional Business Plan Competition, 这将再次在bet亚洲365欢迎投注举行.  她的项目“Piv-It”是本届世界经济论坛评选出的六个项目之一 管理学院为期三天的创业活动 去年秋天.  琼斯’ concept is for a power wheelchair that features a seat that can swivel around without the base moving.  就像accessdoor一样, the idea came out of personal experience when she was sitting in a tightly crowded classroom.  琼斯说, “People at the 3 Day Startup loved the idea and wondered how it didn’t exist already.”

好像创办公司还不够让她忙似的, 琼斯 is active in Marist’s Commuter Club and is also an intern at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill (ERVK).  She was brought into ERVK as a special events/business intern, but her role has recently expanded.  琼斯说, “ERVK asked me to speak at a special event on leadership for community college students, which I was proud to do since I began as a community college student myself.“在所有的网络中, 琼斯花时间和坦纳和斯凯在一起，让自己脚踏实地, 她的两只来自北卡罗来纳州的救援犬.

展望未来, Accessadoor is set to begin a 46-month beta-testing period to collect data and fix bugs.  琼斯 estimates that between 40 and 50 people will be using the app during this testing period.  如果一切顺利的话, she has already identified a manufacturing location for the device in nearby Highland.  琼斯说:“我的目标是让一切都本土化.  毕业后, she wants to be involved in start-ups either in the Hudson River Valley or in 纽约 City.  她补充说:“我也想帮助其他年轻的企业家.  我对辅导很有热情.当然，她还计划继续发展Accessadoor.  有一件事是肯定的——我们还没有听到达纳·琼斯的最后消息.