The University Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute’s Entrepreneurship Fellows Program is designed as a work-study platform where students who have an interest in entrepreneurship have the opportunity to engage in an intensive and in-depth regimen for two semesters, starting in the spring and ending in the fall, said SEI Fellows Program Academic Advisor Thomas       Greckhamer.
Greckhamer said only around 12 students will gain entry into the program, which allows SEI staff to focus all available resources on the group, creating an unmatched learning opportunity.
Students pay nothing to take part in the fellows program and receive benefits like a personal mentor from the business world, guest speakers throughout the semester and a summer internship geared toward at entrepreneurship.
Each student has a different experience in the program because each takes different internships and has different mentors, Greckhamer said. But each experience is intended to allow students the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs and apply those skills in their own lives, he said.
Marketing senior Nathan Irby signed up for a minor in entrepreneurship so he could enroll in the fellows program, noticing the value becoming a fellow would have on his business aspirations.
“I heard through a past fellow that this was the best educational experience in college, and that has been the case for me as well,” he said.
Hearing firsthand from entrepreneurs in the guest speaker series and seeing what they have overcome creates a sense of motivation, and gives insight into how people have succeeded, he said.
Irby conducted his internship over the summer at PosiGen, a solar energy company, with entrepreneur Aaron Dirks, from whom, Irby said, he learned valuable skills needed for the professional world.
Fellows are required to share summer internship experiences with others in the program, which is meant to solidify the learning experience as the students reach the closure of the program in the fall,                          Greckhamer said.
Applications for the 2014 class of the SEI Fellows Program are due Oct. 24 and are available online at sei.lsu.edu.
“I heard through a past fellow that this was the best educational experience in college, and that has been the case for me as well.”