Christian Myers
Two Mount students, Thunlywn Garcia (C’23) and Anthony Milazzo (C’24) created their own company, Ascent Sporting Innovations, with their first idea being manufacturing a shoe insole. Recently, in mid-August, the two students and their company applied for and received a patent for their shoe insoles from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The inserts are special in that they can regulate temperature which provides thermo-regulation to alleviate pain in the feet. The insoles can either keep feet warm in the winter or cool in the summer for maximum efficiency in practices and during games. Milazzo has said though that the insoles were initially designed for those who work or exercise in colder regions. While Garcia and Milazzo created these inserts specifically for soccer, they can also potentially be used by players of other sports such as basketball, ultimate frisbee and rugby.
As with any good idea, this couldn’t have been done alone. About two years ago, Garcia and Milazzo went to Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Garth Patterson, currently the Director of the Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship, for guidance in their endeavors.
It wasn’t only Patterson who joined in on the idea, faculty members, peer students—notable students being Nathan Stricker (C’24), Mitchell Gallo (C’23) and Sophia Culmone (C’23) — and alumni also joined their cause, making a diverse team with expertise in many areas.
“I am so impressed by our students’ innovations,” said President Timothy Trainor. “This is the magic of the Mount… faculty working with students to find the intersection of their passions and talents and carving their path to living a life of significance in service to God and others.” Trainor continued in a presidential weekly update email on Aug. 18. “I’m excited to see this company, and other entrepreneurial endeavors being incubated at PCE soar.”
Being a senior, Milazzo still has one more year to go, planning on playing for the Mountaineers on the soccer team. Garcia, also a senior, plans to graduate in May obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship to concentrate on the business, hoping for word back about a grant.
Until then, Garcia plans on refining the insoles and continuing to build up their company.
This patent could shape the way that not only sports players at the Mount, but sports players across the world could play the games that they love. They can help non-sports players in their day-to-day lives as well as people who just need pain relief. Credit goes to Garcia, Milazzo, Patterson and the many other faculty, students and alumni who came together to make this idea a reality. Here’s hoping for a future of many more helpful and interesting inventions at the Entrepreneurship Center and best wishes for Ascent Sporting Innovations.
Photo by: Tyson Miller