The Entrepreneurship Panel, hosted by Stevenson University office of Career Services, took place on Wednesday, Feb. 13th 2019. The event featured young entrepreneurs from the local Baltimore, MD area whom provided insight and tips to Stevenson University students. Many of the panelists were alumni of Stevenson, including Andy Brown ’12, Founder and CEO of Eat Pizza and Chris Daley ’16M, Founder of Whirlaway, LLC. Other panelists included local professionals such as John Dinkel, Principal of Dinkel Business Development, LLC, Andrew Murphy, Owner of Flying Frog Publishing, Elizabeth Trimm, Branch Manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Garrett Pfeifer of Maryland Brand Management. Throughout the panel session, the entrepreneurs provided insight, told their stories of success and failures, and answered questions. The panel educated students on what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and how every journey is different. Personally, two major take aways came from this event. The first is to “know your strengths and weaknesses.” Garrett Pfeifer spoke about his fathers t-shirt selling experience, and how knowing what he was good at helped him specify his direction. In this day, people try to tackle every aspect of a business that they can. Instead, its better to focus on what you’re good at, so that you can thrive in that one area. The other big takeaway was to start building a network now! I have been very conscious of this throughout my college experience. The panel reinforced that connections can help you land internships and jobs right out of college. It’s not as much “what you know” but “who you know.”
As a senior graduating in May 2019, the Entrepreneurship Panel definitely got me excited about what lays ahead. I enjoyed listening to the triumphs and struggles of the panelists and how every experience truly differed. After Stevenson, I am looking to work in social media marketing and/or media relations. The knowledge provided from public relations professional, Chris Daley, was very insightful for my career path. I specifically enjoyed when he spoke about working for an agency and eventually branching away to create his own entity. With his strong background in public relations, he was able to successfully create press for his new agency. In addition, Chris Daley has been able to work as an adjust professor at Stevenson, teaching three courses that I have been enrolled in. Obtaining my masters and becoming an adjunct at a university has been a thought of mine for a long time. I would enjoy spending time within the workforce and then teaching my knowledge and experience to students. I admired the work of the entrepreneurs and their ability to manage everything. I am someone who enjoys staying busy and managing a lot of projects. It was very encouraging to know I can do everything I desire after college, of course with a lot of hard work and dedication involved.