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Amid the stresses that come with the final weeks of the semester, the Entrepreneurship (Enactus) Club continues to get down to business.
Susan Scherreik, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and the club advisor, said the club was founded eight years ago on the basis of getting students connected to the entrepreneurial community around them.
In the spirit of this mission, the Entrepreneurship Club regularly hosts speaking engagements with successful entrepreneurs throughout the academic year.
According to the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies website, the club hosts guest speakers on a regular basis.
In addition to this, students are also encouraged to foster their own ideas for businesses and economy through sponsoring a variety of events and competitions.
Scherreik said the Pirate’s Pitch, held this April, is one of many examples of competitions sponsored.
According to the Seton Hall University website, Pirate’s Pitch is a competition in which teams of students start, grow or plan out business ventures. Participants then pitch their idea to a panel of successful entrepreneurs and the winning team receives $6,000 including other services to help with the business.
Ryan Skolnick, a sophomore management, marketing and IT major and co-president of the club, pointed out that the club has also been involved in charity work.
“My fondest memory has to be helping the small businesses in South Orange and seeing how happy they were to receive help,” Skolnick said in an email.
The Entrepreneurship Club is planning to further expand their network in the future.
Both Skolnick and Scherreik said that they were hopeful the organization would be involved in Student Startup Weekend next year, connecting SHU with other colleges in the area.
Scherreik explained that the event would involve SHU hosting other students and working in teams to brainstorm new business ideas, with the added incentive of winning prizes for their concepts.
This club has also found other ways to reward enterprising alumni. Scherreik said that the most memorable aspect of her time with the club is when Entrepreneurial Studies inducts two alumni into the Seton Hall Entrepreneur Hall of Fame each October.
She went on to say the event is an excellent opportunity for club members to meet and network with the numerous alumni that attend. Skolnick also highlighted the universal quality of entrepreneurship.
“In this newly evolved corporate world, the skills we learn as entrepreneurs are necessary to advance in any job,” Skolnick said. “Entrepreneurship club helps prepare students to thrive in the real world.”
Scherreik pointed to a certain inspirational quality within the organization.
“Entrepreneurship empowers students to think and dream big and to take steps to make those dreams a reality,” Scherreik added.
Julie Trien can be reached at julie.trien@student.shu.edu.
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