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by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
News Reporter
Fourteen students from Appalachian State University attended the 2008 National Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Annual Conference in Chicago this past weekend.
Ten of the students were related to the CEO club, and four of them were winners of the
Creative Juice Collegiate Competition, where students took garbage and created videos to promote environmental awareness.
The conference consisted of several keynote speakers and workshops where students were able to make contacts and improve their relations with fellow students and businessmen.
Around 1,600 students attended the conference.
Kelly D. Penick, sophomore hospitality management major, went to the conference this year for the second time.
“There
were about seven sessions going on at one time,” she said. “You would
choose which session to visit, for any amount of time, where there
would be lectures or more interactive hands-on sessions.”
Various speakers had different impacts on the students, with some of the younger entrepreneurs exciting attendees.
“There
were older individuals and people more like our age,” Penick said.
“There were people in their 20s who were millionaires and older people
who had held a number of jobs.”
The conference gave students a chance to think about their futures, and how they wanted to live their lives after college.
“The
entire conference just made me think harder,” Penick said. “The biggest
thing I started thinking about was, ‘This is 2008, where would I want
to see my self at age 25?’”
While
the students attended the conference as a group, they split up to go to
different speakers depending on their plans for life.
Alexander S. Macrae, junior management major, said lessons he learned at the conference will help shape his life.
“What I
really learned was how to better communicate and execute my ideas,”
Macrae said. “A guy I really liked was 21 years old and customized
shoes. He gave me ideas how to get businesses started off the ground.”
Penick wants to use her experiences at Appalachian to help define her life after graduation.
“I’ve
got three more years in college and want to make good use of those,”
Penick said. “I need to take an internship and want to take advantage
of this opportunity to get in a position where I can ultimately build
up enough capital to build up my own business venture.”
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