Last month, FSCJ hosted Entrepreneurship Day 2017, a unique opportunity for high school students to experience working as an entrepreneur within the business industry. The event, held at Kent Campus, was a day to motivate and inspire the next generation to pursue their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur or seeking a career within the business sector. The focus was also to showcase and promote the associate and bachelor’s degree business programs at FSCJ.

High school students were able to experience college life and participated in workshops and a mock classroom environment. Workshops were led by FSCJ professors, local business owners and leaders.

Some of the learning outcomes produced from the event were a better understanding of personal leadership qualities, information on how to start a business, basic entrepreneurial concepts and financial theory.

One of the students in attendance said, “My favorite aspect of E-Day was taking college courses and getting a feel of college life for the first time.” Another student said, “My least favorite part was that it went by so fast.”

Overall, Entrepreneurship Day 2017 was a well-received event with a total of 89 students and 20 volunteers spanning from JaxPort, FSCJ and Year Up, as well as dual-enrolled students. The event was sponsored by Black Knight Financial Services and JaxPort with additional support provided by Professors Dr. Harvey Slentz and Professor Jon Lyon.

A high school teacher at the event said, “I thought it was excellent and so did my students. I think you should do this in the early fall at the beginning of the school year, as this is important for 11th and 12th graders that need information and goals like this to help them focus and make good choices throughout the school year. Thank you so much!”

Due to the overall success of the event, Entrepreneurship Day 2018 will be offered in both Nassau and Duval counties and JaxPort has already agreed to be one of the sponsors for the event in the future.