Congratulations!
As the Dean of the WV Governor’s School of Entrepreneurship (GSE), please accept my heartfelt congratulations and WELCOME to GSE and Marshall University! The GSE Team is excited to host you for a couple weeks in July.
From July 7th to July 21st, Marshall University and the Lewis College of Business (Smith Undergrad and Graduate Schools of Business) will host GSE in a new state of the art facility – the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation. What that really means is that we have a great building with a lot of great technology that will make this learning opportunity very interactive and very fun – the key ingredients to an impactful education. The GSE Team is excited to welcome you all to our campus and interact to deliver a memorable experience.
By applying to GSE, you have chosen to join like-minded students in an immersive two-week program intended to encourage maximum IMPACT. GSE will encourage IMPACT through focus on developing and enhancing each student’s mindset, growing each student’s toolset, and building each student’s skillset. In particular, GSE will utilize the best practices of the most successful entrepreneurial ecosystems around the globe. Through GSE, you will have the opportunity to explore these best practices and develop an entrepreneurial mindset that will serve you in all aspects of your life.
Like you and your peers, GSE Faculty come from all over the great State of West Virginia and the Appalachian region. GSE Faculty represent a variety of disciplines and interests and will deliver a variety of content and exercises – since deliberate practice is essential to improving so many skills. Because of the multi-faceted nature of entrepreneurship, our roster of faculty members will discuss subjects such as mastering the pitch presentation, understanding the value of execution, research, self-leadership and leadership, marketing, economics, and business entity formation considerations. Importantly, you will be given the opportunity to not only learn about these subjects but to experience how to integrate and utilize this information for venture formation and success. Moreover, our roster of professional coaches and mentors will be able to assist you in connecting the dots and understanding the practical application of this information.
After the preparatory work in the classroom, student-groups will get to put these tools to use in a real setting. For the third consecutive year, each student-group will have a pop-up store at the Huntington Mall (an event we have labeled “Pop-Up @ the Mall”. Taking advantage of the foot traffic at the Huntington Mall, students will get to engage with potential customers and gain invaluable feedback. Through this real-world activity, students will get a better sense of whether it is headed in the right direction or whether a course correction is necessary—much like entrepreneurs face each day.
Each year, WVGSE organizers and administrators attempt to enhance and deliver the most relevant practices in entrepreneurship education. The 2023-2024 edition of GSE builds upon this philosophy. GSE is designed to deliver education with IMPACT. Utilizing a slight alteration to the “Pop-Up @ the Mall” concept, students will get even more opportunities to gather information from real potential customers. Moreover, by integrating accounting and economics into the course topics, the GSE curriculum is even more well-rounded. Finally, with a few “lunch-and-learn” type opportunities with local/regional restaurateurs, you can see a real example of people like you putting into practice what you will learn at GSE.
I hope your excitement matches or exceeds the excitement of our GSE Team. We are appreciative of the opportunity to meet and work with such outstanding students.
Welcome! The GSE team cannot wait to get started!
Your GSE Dean – Olen York
