Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Development Spreads Spirit of Entrepreneurship to Local High Schools
The Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Development, through its Women’s Business Center (WBC), is spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship to regional high schools. In June, 2011, the WBC held its first, Youth Summer Entrepreneurial Camp in collaboration with Junior Achievement of the Space Coast.
High school students came together on Florida Tech’s campus to learn about concepts and skills in business planning, advertising, ethics, financing, marketing, graphic presentation and in a fun, safe, and interactive environment. Dr. Donn Miller-Kermani, Director of the WBC, explained, “During the week-long day camp, young entrepreneurs learned what it takes to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump, or Oprah of their generation.”
What a success! Nathan M. Bisk College of Business faculty and students, along with community and business leaders, shared their expertise, knowledge, and experience with high school students in exploring entrepreneurship as a career path. Business ideas abounded, and in a range of areas of service and manufacturing industries that included both profit and not-for-profit entities. The outcomes were exciting in terms of business potential through creativity and innovation.
Several local sponsors offered scholarships to cover fees of attending the summer camp. Carol Craig of Craig Technologies and Cindy Dropeski, president of Melbourne-based Intercoastal Insurance Inc. made participation possible for several young entrepreneurs through their scholarships.
Dr. Miller-Kermani is excited about expanding the summer camp program in June 2012 to include young entrepreneurs from across the region. She sees strong potential for aspiring young entrepreneurs to learn from accomplished entrepreneurs serving as College of Business faculty and as business and community leaders.
Junior Achievement of the Space Coast (JASC) is the Brevard organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JASC reaches more than 7,000 students in Brevard County. For more information, visit www.jaspacecoast.org .
WBC at Florida Tech is partially funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and is an outreach of the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Development. For more information, visit www.wbc.fit.edu .
