20 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST While taking a global business European perspective class at Lehigh, Manpreet Patel MBA’25 began working on the idea of a hologram zoo. Born out of her son’s love of nature, her experience as a business owner and the idea of a cruelty-free approach to aquariums and zoos, the grand opening of her venture took place July 18, 2025, in Easton, PA. How did you come up with the idea for a hologram zoo? My son really enjoys everything about nature, and I’ve always wanted to do something that’s within the educational sector, but I have a background in business. Having been in a corporate role and with my husband and I having two retail locations, I wanted to do something more. After extensive research, I found there’s technology where holograms could be brought to the mainstream audience. What exactly is a hologram zoo? We offer 3D holographic experiences. I like to call it an ‘edutainment’ center. It’s educational and entertaining at the same time. All the animals are made of projected laser light, but they look, act and sound very realistic. Our zoo shows change quarterly, with seasonal shows offered during specific times of the year, but we can take you to different parts of the world to see animals that you may otherwise not have a chance to see. For example, going on an African safari or going back in time to visit the dinosaurs up until the Cretaceous Period. We have new shows such as Arctic, Asia, outer space and more coming soon. NEW NOVEL BY LORI GOLDSTEIN ’95 EXPLORES AI IN CREATIVE WRITING Can artificial intelligence (AI) make genuine art? And if it can match human creativity— even write a bestselling novel—what does that mean for the value of human authorship? These questions and more are explored in “Romantic Friction,” a new fiction novel by Lori Goldstein ’95 (written under Lori Gold). The novel follows Sofie Wilde, a bestselling author challenged by newcomer Hartley West whose successful book was created using AI. The concept came to Goldstein while teaching a creative writing class when a student expressed concerns. “She was disheartened, fearing that AI would replace all of us who write books,” said Goldstein, who majored in journalism. In the novel, when Sofie discovers that Hartley used AI, she’s outraged. However, the outside world doesn’t share her ire—instead, Hartley is celebrated by many. At a romance readers’ convention she’s headlining, Sofie joins fellow authors to stop Hartley. “Romantic Friction” (MIRA, 2025) was an NPR Book of the Day, a Zibby Media Summer Reads pick and was featured on NPR’s “Here and Now.” Goldstein was also featured on Lehigh’s Mountain Talks.—Katelyn Silva BOOKSHELF How common is a hologram zoo? We’re the first in the Northeast and second in the U.S. I’ve had a lot of people contacting me because they also want to open a holographic center like ours. There’s one in Austin, TX, and another that just opened in Niagara Falls, NY. It’s becoming popular because people are seeing that this is the direction that entertainment is going. Have you always dreamed of starting your own business? During the pandemic, seeing all the different changes, all that uncertainty and instability, that’s really what sparked my journey. I mean, growing up, I always wanted to have my own business. I wasn’t thinking large-scale initially, but once I joined the MBA program, I felt my skills would be better utilized in directly owning a business versus supporting a business in a corporate capacity. You came up with the idea for this in one of your classes at Lehigh. What else at Lehigh helped you? … I don’t think I would have been prepared for it, I wouldn’t have had the confidence if I hadn’t done my MBA. My professors at Lehigh truly helped me.—Stephen Gross ENTREPRENEURSHIP | ALUMNI ’25 ’25 A Holographic Experience Manpreet Patel MBA’25 opened Hologram Zoo Lehigh Valley, the second of its kind in the nation. “IT’S EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINING AT THE SAME TIME. ALL THE ANIMALS ARE MADE OF PROJECTED LASER LIGHT, BUT THEY LOOK, ACT AND SOUND VERY REALISTIC.” —Manpreet Patel MBA’25 CHRISTA NEU
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