Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour

Students shuffled into Straughn Auditorium Tuesday not knowing what to expect.

To many of the attendees, “entrepreneurship” was a new buzz word being thrown around campus. Some were shocked and intrigued by the 30 foot bus parked in the middle of campus that read “Finding Passions, Changing Lives, The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour.” For Matt Guagliardo, the president of the collegiate entrepreneur’s organization (CEO), entrepreneurship represented more than a buzz word, it represented a possibility.

And in three hours, those possibilities would expand.

Hours earlier, over zesty salads and oversized portions of meatloaf at Lambs Creek Food &Spirits, Matt, whose CEO club

championed bringing in the tour, shared why the EET was chosen to kick off a new entrepreneur culture.“When we saw Michael Simmons last year at the Susquehanna event we knew we had to bring the tour in. He was sincere, informative, authentic,and made you think that anything was possible.” The entrepreneurial program at Mansfield was a year old effort and they wanted to gain attention in a big way. They wanted students to get it.

Students “got” tour speaker Scott Becker, who connected instantly.

Scott’s unlikely story, of failing at several businesses and then building up a 100 million dollar media company

that got acquired by Google, resonated. Mansfield University relishes in the underdog role. “The knock on us is that we are a small community,” student governmentofficer Chris Dumschat revealed, “but the connections, network and enthusiasm here magnifies our impact”

Tour attendee Elisa Morales, an international student, described the impact the event had on her.

“After this evening, I must say that I feel I have extra strength to jump higher, to try my best, to answer the phone call,

to work that 10,000 hours and above all to not kissing my dreams and hopes goodbye”

Anthony Clark, another attendee, echoed similar sentiments.

“I went into the workforce right after high school, I wasn’t making a lot of money and frustrated with the lack of opportunities I saw.

I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad and that completely changed my life and helped me to chart a new course. After attending

this event today I can honestly say that this is another one of those moments that has changed my life for the better”

Ed Foote, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, praised the students for their efforts.

He cheered the students not only bringing in the tour but for beginning to adopt a new culture of entrepreneurship.

“The students wanted this, they funded this and ultimately owned this, and that’s the type of entrepreneurial spirit we are looking to develop here. We have student like Adam Banroft who is starting a record company, another student Chris who is helping bring a movie theatre to the area and even more students looking to tap into their potential.”

Evan wells and Joe Turdo, who were both part of the process for bringing the tour in, exemplified this spirit.

They drove two hours, from West Chester and Binghamton respectively to see what impact their hard work had produced.

And three hours later, the attendees walked out with a new sense of purpose, promise, and excitement about what new possibilities lay ahead.