Summer Business Academy Prepares Future Entrepreneurs
Monica Amadio, an assistant professor of Business Administration Management, works with students to develop a business plan as part of the Summer Entrepreneurship and Business Academy. The academy is a weeklong program for high schoolers at Stockton's Atlantic City campus.
Atlantic City, N.J. — More than 1.1 million small businesses call New Jersey home and employ nearly half of the state’s private workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
With thousands of news businesses opening annually in the state, the value of learning about entrepreneurship also continues to grow.
Students brainstorm ideas for an all-in-one personalized wedding planning app called Vowly with Christy Goodnight, Stockton assistant professor of Business Studies, Management. The students' pitch was picked as the winning team at the end of the week.
Stockton University’s Summer Entrepreneurship and Business Academy (SEBA) is benefiting from that trend as the weeklong residential camp from July 12 to 18 hosted 22 high schoolers from across the state. The academy, held at the Atlantic City campus, divided the students into teams tasked with creating a business plan for a new venture. The teams then presented their plans to a panel of judges at the end of the week.
Stockton faculty members advised the teams as they took seminars about marketing, branding, property law and artificial intelligence. The students also took field trips to visit area small businesses, some run by Stockton alumni.
“We work very hard to make the overall educational experience for the students more immersive so that they can relate the information and skills they learn in the classroom to the world of business,” said SEBA Program Director Tara Marsh.
New this year was a workshop about the importance of networking, Marsh said. That was followed by a panel of young entrepreneurs who are current or recent Stockton students. The SEBA campers then attended a networking dinner to use the skills they learned in the workshop.
Marsh said this year’s winning team created a business plan for an all-in-one personalized wedding planning app called Vowly. Arav Bajoria of Dayton, Sage Bundy of Little Egg Harbor Township, Marley Gaynor of Piscataway Township, Annika Jeena of Edison, and Justin Wong of Summit, comprised the winning team.
Stockton features two programs targeted at those who want to start a small business — a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship and a new Entrepreneurship Certificate that is open to all majors. For more information, call the School of Business office at 609-652-4534 or email Program Chair Monica Amadio.
-- Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Susan Allen
