An engineering family’s vision and the student accelerator making it happen

It began with a realization.  

As a student at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, Sebastian Baquerizo B.S.E.’17 noticed a disparity. While Trinity students had access to various academic prizes and funding streams, Pratt lacked similar support for engineering students eager to continue their projects beyond the classroom.

As president of Pratt’s student government his senior year, Baquerizo brought an idea to his father: What if there was a prize specifically for teams of engineering students—one that could empower them to go beyond problem sets and prototypes and into the realm of real-world innovation?  

His father, Rodolfo Baquerizo Sr., didn’t hesitate, especially since both of his sons, Rodolfo Jr. B.S.E.’15 and Sebastian, loved their Duke Engineering journeys. That spark became the Baquerizo Innovation Grant (nicknamed “Go BIG”), a student accelerator funded by a $1.1 million gift from the Baquerizo family to empower student innovation and entrepreneurship and give Duke engineers the chance to transform ideas into impact. 

“We could create opportunities for Pratt students to go beyond the engineering school, forming a ripple effect that leads to meaningful impact in places and people far beyond Duke.” — Sebastian Baquerizo B.S.E.’17

A Legacy of Purpose-Driven Innovation 

Since its founding, Go BIG has been a launchpad for bold, collaborative engineering projects that blend ingenuity with purpose. The initiative emphasizes teams, not just individuals—reflecting Sebastian’s deep belief in the collaborative spirit fostered during his and his brother’s own all-nighters in the Duke engineering community. 

Each year, students rise to that vision. 

• Sydelle Bernstein, Raya Caldwell and Isabel Lehrman used their grant to grow “Students Who Sit,” a platform that connects student caregivers with faculty support. The funding enabled automation, development partnerships and scale that would have otherwise been out of reach. 
• Delali Cudjoe, Ken Kalin and Alex Liu developed QuickCal, a scheduling tool for construction sites. Go BIG helped them secure paid pilots and accelerate product development with enterprise customers.  
• The team behind The Lunch Bunch—McKenna Wickers, Quinn Mair and Eva Bonde—used Go BIG funds to develop modular lunch trays for Durham Public Schools. Their work not only encouraged more diverse, nutritious food options but also transformed their own understanding of engineering’s real-world impact. 

“This has been one of my favorite parts about being here at Duke,” said Quinn. “I’ve met incredible friends and faculty, and the Go BIG grant allows us to keep pushing forward, exploring things we’d never encounter in the classroom.”  

At the heart of it all is the Baquerizo family’s unwavering love for Duke. Rodolfo sees the focus, drive, purpose in Duke students that every parent hopes for. 

“It’s love for the school, love for what I saw it is for my kids and love for what it does for all students,” he said. “Duke is an amazing institution that forms amazing engineers with a sense of purpose, of solving problems and hopefully creating value that will benefit them and the school itself. I see the BIG contestants and winners, and I’m in awe of what they do.”