Entrepreneurship Week at Utah State University

 Business men and women gathered this week to teach young entrepreneurs strategies and principles of success in business.

At the Eccles Center at Utah State University the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business held conferences to aid aspiring entrepreneurs in building thriving businesses of their own. The event provided opportunities for skills to be learned and connections to be made. Entrepreneurship week started April 1 and ended on April 5.

Kellan Stevens, a major in leadership management and human resources, volunteered at the event hoping to give back and also network.

"I have been talking to leaders on how to gain leadership," Stevens said. "But I really want to minimize the gap between graduation and starting my career."

Entrepreneurship week was geared towards both graduates and undergraduates of Utah State. The two day leadership conferences cost 275 dollars per day, but were free to students. James Drake and Steven Espinoza, who helped coordinate the event, both wanted the experience to benefit those attending Utah State.

"We focused our marketing on the students," Drake said. "The student body had the opportunity to host and have one on one time with the speakers. They were able to listen and seek advice from the presenters."

Another main focus of these events was to promote the new entrepreneurship minor that students can earn in six weeks.

"We probably had 250 people at our kick-off event on Monday," Espinoza said. "As the president of the Events Team, I combined with the Partners in Business to let students know that the entrepreneurship major is now only offered as a minor."

According to Drake, the planning started last year to get all of the speakers to the conference. A committee would meet once a month to network and invite speakers.

"I would probably say my personal relationship with the speakers was my favorite part of the whole experience," Drake said. "I felt that when the conference started I knew who they were, they treated me like a fellow professional and it was an awesome experience. I was able to talk with them, sit with them and ask them specific questions. It was such a personal benefit."

Entrepreneurship week gave students the chance to benefit from the knowledge of professionals, and make connections for future jobs.