November 4, 2021
Newly chartered at Shawnee State University, the Entrepreneurship Club is designed to help current SSU students gain exposure in different fields while developing skills they can use in their future careers. The club offers students the chance to gain entrepreneurial experience without the commitment of pursuing an actual entrepreneurship minor. The club’s officers Kaitlyn Cooper and Kevin de Lange are hoping this club will inspire students to learn more about entrepreneurship.
“We are working as hard as we can to get the club off the ground,” said Cooper, who serves as the club’s current President. “Our club advisors, David Kilroy and Derrick Parker, are extremely helpful. They also give us plenty of freedom to shape the club into what we as students would want to see, and they are our most valuable and appreciated resources.”
The club offers a unique vantage point into the lives of current working entrepreneurs. Recently the group has participated in speaker events through SSU’s Kricker Innovation Hub where students can tune in and learn real-world information and ideas from entrepreneurs. As the club continues to grow throughout the year, more events will be planned for students to participate in.
“Being an entrepreneur is often seen as either very brave or very stupid,” said Cooper, who is passionate about what the club can do in the future for students. “It’s a toss-up whether you will get all the support you want or need. However, the whole point of being an entrepreneur is getting out there, paving a new path, and either doing something that hasn’t been done before or being an innovator for old ideas. You never know what will happen when you make that first jump, but, even if you think you failed, never give up on what you really want, because it is only the beginning.”
The club currently meets every first and third Monday of each month at noon. Both Cooper and de Lange are urging prospective members who may be interested in joining to consider taking on a leadership role within the club. To find out more about SSU’s Entrepreneurship Club, students can contact club advisors David Kilroy at dkilroy@sahwnee.edu or Derrick Parker at dparker@shawnee.edu.
To learn more about current student clubs and organizations at Shawnee State University, visit shawnee.edu/campus-life.