A meeting of the team for Ascent Sporting Innovations, now ELOS, which secured the first student patent in the university’s history.
The Mount St. Mary’s University Richard J. Bolte Sr. School of Business announces the Randolph Johnson Scholarship for Entrepreneurs. The annual scholarship program initially will offer four scholarships of $2,500 each to support aspiring entrepreneurs, starting in academic year 2025-26. Applicants must be undergraduate students enrolled at the Mount in any major.
To honor his father Randolph Johnson, Casteel Johnson, C’16, founder and chief executive officer of Second Mile Services, generously funded the scholarship. An accounting major at the Mount, Johnson gained leadership experience during his four years on campus by serving as class vice president, a leader in the Black Student Union and a member of the Activity Management Program (AMP).
Johnson worked as an auditor, tax associate and senior staff accountant for five years before founding Second Mile Services in February 2021. The growing company provides personalized one-on-one behavioral support services for youth in foster care within the Baltimore region and beyond. Raised in East Baltimore, Johnson saw the challenges faced by classmates in foster care. By founding Second Mile Services, he is giving back to the community by supporting young people in foster care.
Students who have a passion for innovation or a business idea are encouraged to apply for the Randolph Johnson 
Scholarship for Entrepreneurs by September 1. The application requires an essay of 500 to 750 words, describing the applicant’s entrepreneurial idea or venture, either for-profit or not-for-profit. The essay must also explain the problem the idea solves and its potential impact and discuss the applicant’s motivation, any steps taken to date and needs to bring the idea to life.
The essay and a brief personal statement must be submitted by September 1 to Garth Patterson, Ph.D., director of the Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE), at gpatterson@msmary.edu. Applicants must include their full name, student ID number, major and contact information.
The scholarship winners will be chosen based on:
In the Spring 2025 semester, the PCE hosted Casteel Johnson for a day on campus in which he talked and offered advice to several groups of students about their ideas and plans. “Being five years in on my own journey, it felt good to be able to connect with, provide advice to, and offer mentorship to students who have a passion and a desire to be great!” reflected Johnson in a post on his LinkedIn account. That visit also led to the Randolph Johnson Scholarship for Entrepreneurs. “The Mount has given so much to me, and I’m blessed to be in a position to begin to give back,” he added.
“We are lucky to have Casteel Johnson as a Bolte School of Business graduate,” said Dean of the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business Corinne Farneti, Ph.D. “Casteel’s generosity will help entrepreneurship students for years to come.”
"The Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship is excited to announce this scholarship, which will directly benefit the students we work with and demonstrate the value of the entrepreneurial mind and spirit," said PCE Director Patterson. "We thank the Johnson family for their support and entrepreneurial spirit."
When Patterson became director of the PCE in 2023, the center’s focus shifted to idea formation and direct action. This change has prompted the first student patent in the university’s history, several successful startups and patent applications in the works and robust experiential learning.
Patterson, who came to the Mount as a chemistry professor in 2014, founded Griffin Analytical Technologies, later acquired by FLIR Systems, Inc., and was a principal investigator on multiple projects, including several Small Business Innovation Research awards. Patterson has been awarded more than a dozen United States patents and several international patents, all focused on mass spectrometry development.
Students with questions about the scholarship program should contact PCE Director Garth Patterson at gpatterson@msmary.edu.