South Carolina Business Review

SC robotics team wins community service award

By Mike Switzer

Published March 19, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT

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Mike Switzer, host of the South Carolina Business Review

The 2025 InnoVision awards were announced late last year and our next guest’s group of students won the Community Service award, which is given for innovations that improve life in our state’s communities. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Elaine Parshall, an engineering instructor and head of the Robotics Program at the SC Governor's School for Science + Mathematics in Hartsville, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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