Students, entrepreneurs to rub shoulders at NIU

Students from District 214, District 211 and Barrington High School, will participate in the third annual Entrepreneurship Day at Northern Illinois University’s Hoffman Estates campus on Friday, Nov. 18. This year’s event is sponsored by the Northwest Suburban Education to Careers Partnership, with special funding from the Coleman Foundation.

Entrepreneurship Day is an excellent opportunity for young, future business leaders to learn from the experts in a conference setting. Entrepreneurs from all over the region will offer presentations to students, discussing how they formed and implemented goals for their businesses and how they are planning for the future, especially with the challenges of the current global economic climate.

Michael Hennessy of the Coleman Foundation will open the event, followed by an introduction by Dean Sarah Marks of the NIU Business Department. Dennis Barsema of NIU’s Barsema Hall will deliver the keynote address.

Entrepreneurs, all NIU alumni, will meet with students in breakout sessions, covering topics as general business, general management consulting, event planning, real estate development/construction and sporting goods. Coming are Jay Beaton (Off the Beaton Path), Amanda Burdick (La’Di Events), Mike DeMar (Fidelity Wes Construction), Dan Nicholson (Position Tech), and Ariel Ries (Small Town Skate Shop).

Coleman/DePaul speakers, also alumni are Reid Lappin (CEO, VOKAL Interactive), Mark Bertrand (Cloudbot), Domingo Meneses (CrowdNoize) and Jamie Pritscher (That’s Caring).

The day will conclude with a luncheon, allowing students to meet with the business professionals and ask questions in a more relaxed setting.

Congress established National Entrepreneurship Week in 2006 as a celebration of American entrepreneurs and the lifelong learning educational opportunities that prepare the business leaders of the future. Next year’s weeklong observation of National Entrepreneurship Week will be Feb. 18-25, 2012, a springboard to the promotion of entrepreneurship activities and events all yearlong, at the local, state and national levels.