Entrepreneurship Club of COD Offers Real-World Experiences
The College of DuPage Entrepreneurship Club—student-run, student-led—offers students a variety of experiences beyond the classroom. From meeting with local business owners at Chamber of Commerce events to bake sales, these students get real-world experience to last them a lifetime.
At first blush a bake sale may not seem like a learning experience, but for students who have never had to organize an event, the recent bake sale was an eye opening experience. The process of developing a product line, having it meet the requirements of COD for student sales, developing a staffing roster for the event, staffing the event and doing the accounting for the sale afterwards provided club members with insights into a real business environment.
At the After Hours Business meetings of the Lisle Chamber of Commerce, several students were able to meet and interact one on one with local business owners such as B. Gunther & Company, Woodridge Food Pantry, and Hilton Hotels. This experience opened students up to the world of diverse business in a way that simply can’t be duplicated in the classroom.
Umair Shah, President of COD Entrepreneurship Club, commented that “the link between Chamber of Commerce events and our student body provides an excellent source of knowledge that students can share and learn from.”
Sonny Smith, Professor of Business at COD and faculty advisor of the Entrepreneurship Club, sees the mission of the club as a bridge between the theory of classroom and the reality of the boardroom. Smith says “the Entrepreneurship Club allows students the opportunity to explore and gain knowledge in a business environment without the full risk of trying to launch a business.”
Clubs like the Entrepreneurship Club serve District 502 students in ways that can’t be quantified. They build bridges to the greater community and teach lessons that go beyond the classroom. For more information on this club, please contact:
Umair Shah at SLC.Umair@cod.edu or Professor Sonny Smith at smithh@cod.edu.