Thanks to Grove City College’s innovative approach to Entrepreneurship education – which is recognized as a model for other programs – six charities have an additional $4,650 this year to advance their good works.
The donations represent the profits from businesses that were created by students for the eCommerce course taught by Yvonne English ’97, assistant professor and executive director of the College’s Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation. Students learn about the essential components of a successful online enterprise, in part, through working in teams to design and operate their own digital businesses during the semester.
“I am thrilled with the results of what started out as an experiment to give my students the chance to put what they were learning in the classroom to immediate use helping our community. The students put in a lot of work throughout the semester, and I am proud of their efforts,” English said.
Students created companies that made and marketed blue light blocking eyeglasses, stickers, jewelry, tea, and scrunchies, and enjoyed varied levels of success. Proceeds of the effort were earmarked for charity and distributed this month:
- $436.77 for ENVISION Blind Sports from the BluOut team: Peyton Brogan ’22, Emily Geiger ’20, Jake Guidas ’22, Lillian Jeynes ’22 and Logan Wick ’23
- $620.03 for Reaching Up & Reaching Out from the Celebrate Life team: Megan Hull ’20, Moriah Mosher ’20, Nathan Rogers ’20, Libby Stewart ’22 and Gabriel Yaich ’20.
- $488.03 for Sharon Regional Healthcare Center from the Coping & Hoping team: Carly Brest ’22, Nathan Gose ’22, Ross Michaelian ’22, Ethan Ward ’22 and Max Weber ’22.
- $1,337.14 for Pittsburgh Kids Foundation from the Happy Day team: Lindsey Cummings ’22, Caroline Dudt ’21, Mark Sotomayor ’20, Cameron Suorsa ’21 and Nathan Warrick ’22.
- $721.55 for The Pittsburgh Project from the Steepings team: Maverick Dickson ’20, Tessa Falcetta ’21, Ethan Hayward ’20, James Hayward ‘20 and Patty Jo Nickoloff ’21.
- $1,046.64 for George Junior Republic from the UpVinyl team: Alex Hyer ’20, Gretta Kriner ’21, Jeffrey Pew ’22, Juliana Smith ’22 and Mitchell Smith ’20.
“Watching these teams turn an idea into a reality has been an incredible experience. I have seen them grow as students and as people. Learning how to work on a fully-functioning e-commerce business as a team is no small endeavor! I am beyond proud of all the work they have accomplished this semester,” Aby Griffith ’21, an Entrepreneurship teaching assistant, Ohio, said.
Grove City College’s Entrepreneurship program, which includes an academic program supported by the Center for E+I, is recognized as a national model for other colleges and universities by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). For more, visit www.gccentrepreneurship.com.