Shippensburg University’s Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation hosts its Career and Innovation Hour tonight, allowing students to explore future job opportunities and network with local businesses.
In 2015, retired businessman Charles Diller Jr. donated money to SU’s entrepreneurship program, leading to the creation of the Diller Center.
It was not until 2016 that the program began to host student events and increasingly promote itself, according to Diller Center Director Otso Massala.
Last semester, the Diller Center partnered with SU’s chapter of Enactus, a student-run group that works within the university and the community to make the world a better place through entrepreneurial action, according to the national Enactus website.
“Enactus looks into the community and tries to see where we can use our skills to help,” Enactus President Garret Lee said.
Following the Career and Innovation Hour, Enactus will continue its partnership with the entrepreneurship program by promoting “3 Day Startup,” or 3DS, which offers a three-day entrepreneurship training for students and places them directly in the business field. Lee said a common misconception is that 3DS is just for business students.
“[3DS] is a résumé builder, and it shows you take initiative,” Lee said. “It helps you think about opportunities you may not have thought of before.”
This year’s 3DS will be held from Nov. 17– 19, a semester earlier than last year’s event. Enactus hopes that moving up the date will help the event attract more students, Lee said.
Later this year, Enactus hopes to bring a TED talk on entrepreneurship to SU, and is working with entrepreneurship professor Robert Stephens to lower the cost of entrepreneurship textbooks, with the hope of eventually lowering the cost of textbooks at SU.
Students interested in learning more about SU’s entrepreneurship program should attend the Career and Innovation Hour at 6 p.m. in the Shippensburg University Foundation’s Conference Center.
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