Young Alumni Achievement Award
This award recognizes an alumnus or alumna within 10 years of graduation who has excelled in his or her profession and has contributed to Arizona State University and/or the ASU Alumni Association and the community.
Sammi Ekmark, a driven entrepreneur and former Sun Devil Women’s Tennis standout, is this year’s recipient of the Young Alumni Achievement Award.
- Co-founder and chief product officer of Ink’d Greetings, a personalized greeting card and gift card technology company.
- Leads a business generating more than $50,000 in monthly revenue.
- Former Division I Sun Devil Women’s Tennis player, ranked among the top 50 singles players nationally.
Sammi Ekmark, ’19 BA English, co-founded Ink’d Greetings with her husband, Andrew, in 2023 — marking a successful transition from star collegiate athlete to entrepreneur. A dedicated tennis player since the age of 10, Ekmark was recruited to Arizona State University to compete on the Division I Sun Devil Women’s Tennis team. She never lost a match during her high school career and went on to earn a national singles ranking among the top 50 players while at ASU.
While excelling on the court, Ekmark pursued her bachelor’s degree in English language and literature. During a late-night tournament in college, she suffered a torn ACL — an injury that helped reshape her professional trajectory. Although she returned to tennis after recovery, an entrepreneurship course at ASU sparked a new passion. That interest quickly turned into action, including the launch of her own cookie company while still a student.
That entrepreneurial drive eventually led Ekmark and her husband to create Ink’d Greetings, an automated greeting card and gift card kiosk that prints personalized cards on demand. Customers can browse hundreds of designs, customize messages and add cards for an all-in-one gifting experience. The company’s mission is to deliver a product that is more efficient and profitable for retailers, while being convenient, fun and affordable for consumers. Today, Ink’d Greetings operates in more than 150 locations nationwide, generates over $50,000 per month and employs ASU students to help design its card offerings. In 2025, the company achieved 535% year-over-year growth.
Maintaining strong ties to her alma mater, Ekmark and her husband participated in InvestU, an ASU Enterprise Partners program that connects ASU-affiliated startups with investors and mentors. Through InvestU, they gained both funding and guidance. Most recently, Ink’d Greetings was selected as both a winner and fan favorite in the Most Fundable Companies Competition hosted by the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. The company also won the 2025 Venture Madness Conference, the Southwest’s largest pitch competition, in addition to being featured on "Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch” on EntrepreneurTV in fall 2025.