Campus

Bauer student paints Jobs for competition

Business junior Brenda Melgar painted a portrait of Steve Jobs in 20 minutes for a entrepreneurship YouTube competition. | Courtesy of Bauer College of Business

Business junior Brenda Melgar painted a portrait of Steve Jobs in 20 minutes for a entrepreneurship YouTube competition. | Courtesy of Bauer College of Business

C.T. Bauer College of Business junior Brenda Melgar drew a crowd of students and faculty, including Bauer Dean Latha Ramchand, with her speed painting portrait of the late Steve Jobs Thursday in front of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library.

Melgar and her group, the Apple Bytes, will post the video of the event on YouTube for a grade in their entrepreneurship class, requiring students to organize a flash mob with the most members or post a viral YouTube video with the most views.

“Steve Jobs was an incredible entrepreneur who changed the world,” Melgar said. “As a future Wolff Center student, I appreciate Jobs’ gift in entrepreneurship, and so do the other students in my group.”

Melgar started with a blank 50-inch canvas and finished the portrait in just a little over 20 minutes, while the rest of her group passed out candy to curious onlookers.

“I think it’s a creative way to integrate multimedia into the curriculum,” Brianne Batley, liberal studies junior said.

Melgar, who studied art throughout high school, applied to UH as a backup. She was initially afraid to attend a non-art school, but at her parent’s urging, she enrolled at Bauer. She hopes to infuse business and art by opening her own gallery one day.

“I had a serious moment towards the end (of high school) where I just really had to think of where I’m going to be in the next 10-to-15 years,” Melgar said. “At first I didn’t see how business and art could connect, but halfway through I realized I’ll need some sort of business knowledge to open that gallery. It got me energized to really pursue my business degree at Bauer.”

Ramchand believes that Melgar celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship.

“We have someone in the business school with a non-business personality, and she’s learning how to convert her art into a business model,” Ramchand said.

“Plus, she’s celebrating someone who, to me, symbolizes everything about entrepreneurship.”

The video can be found on YouTube by searching “Steve Jobs speed painting.”

1 Comment

  • Bleh. Jobs is very overrated, though I agree he's had some significant contributions to consumer technology. It's sad we recognize marketers as innovators, rather than the people that actually do the work that makes innnovation happen.

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