The Board of Entrepreneurship at the University of Massachusetts is beginning its first semester as an ordained club on campus, and is looking for new members.
Dasha Agoulnik, a junior and current president of the club, said her goal in creating the group was to connect people from the different departments on campus.
“We want to become a student-driven multidisciplinary learning community,” she said. “I believe everyone has a skillset to bring to a team, no matter their major. As a result, everyone can be an entrepreneur if they learn how to apply their skill set.”
Agoulnik began to develop an interest in entrepreneurship as a sophomore at UMass, and spent the following summer learning more about it. When she saw that the University did not have any standing clubs that offered entrepreneurship opportunities, she met with the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Jim Theroux, who gave her the resources she needed to form the club.
The group’s Executive Co-Chair of Marketing, Joshua Darling, said they hope to spread entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the student body.
The current mission of the club is recruitment, as it currently has about 20 members.
“Not only are we accepting anyone, but we’re welcoming everyone,” Darling said.
So far this year, the club hosted a guest speaker event Sept. 17 with Kevin Mitchell, a UMass alum who has worked with Def Jam Records, Shaquille O’Neal and National Amusements. He plans to return to the University to speak again.
Agoulnik also added that they are organizing a number of events and workshops this semester.
“We are planning on hosting workshops on giving successful pitches, business law and business plans. At every meeting we discuss new ideas, making sure everyone has the opportunity to voice a topic they want to learn more about.”
The club has four committees, which include marketing, programming, communications and sponsorship.
“We hope to create a relaxed but structured atmosphere and space where people can make things happen,” Darling said.
“I am most excited about spreading the word about our multidisciplinary student-driven learning platform across campus,” Agoulnik said. “I want to see the musicians come together with the chemists, the economists with the philosophers. When we teach and learn within the student body, there’s more drive and ultimately more accomplishments.”
More information about the club is available on the UMass Board of Entrepreneurship’s Facebook page.
Nicole Dotzenrod can be reached at [email protected].
