Testimonials
Hear what our students and alumni have to say
Alumni
“My experience has an Entrepreneurship and Innovation student and Fellow has been instrumental to my development as an entrepreneur, community member, and authentic human. Through this fellowship, I have discovered values that are shaping my future. The opportunity to serve as a student coach and mentor has given me the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with my peers, professors, and my self. I see my learnings applied outside of the classroom and truly in all parts of my life. When people ask me what entrepreneurship is, I tell them that it is learning the tools to make your dreams come true! Being a fellow, I am developing competence and confidence in the tools I need not only to build my own dreams but assist passionate people around me to build theirs. The support, space, inspiration, and community are the four main elements that allowed me to flourish as an entrepreneur. All of these elements are what I hope to carry forward in my future career as a coach. During the course of our program, I have had the opportunity to learn from professional coaches. They inspired me to the point of enrolling in a coaching certification program. And because I have the tools to build, grow, and flourish in business, I am able to build a coaching business that I intend to be my main venture after graduating in the spring of 2021. The opportunity to meet and connect with people in the coaching profession is one of many incredible opportunities I have encounter during my involvement in the E&I program.”
“If I could describe the program to someone I would say that it will benefit individuals who want to start a business or someone who wants to make change happen within a business or community. All of the hypotheses and skills that are practiced will benefit everyone at some point in their lives. Your skill in public speaking will improve tenfold.”
I was inspired to join the program after hearing about it from a friend. They talked about the 2 year long process and at the final phases being able to launch a business. The culture of the program sounded like a fun opportunity to be a part of. I have noticed growth in my thought process of problem solving skills.
I found the culture and design of the program to be most surprising. The program breaks down the walls of a typical classroom in college to open creative new ways of thinking.
The E & I Program is an amazing opportunity to be a part of. It harnesses a unique culture within the classroom and pushes you to think of new creative ways to solve problems.
Current Students
“Through my first few years of college, I found myself longing for the sense of community I had throughout middle school and high school. Once I landed in my major, I really started to realize how valuable it was to surround myself with passionate people, and how much it empowered me to do better. My major requires a minor, and I struggled for a long time to find something that interested me and worked with my learning style. Then, I decided to study abroad with the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program in Costa Rica. It was a life changing three weeks, and one of the things that made me so excited during that time was feeling like I was immediately welcomed into this group of people who already knew each other, and that I got to spend everyday learning in such a hands on, interactive and creative way. After a leap of faith, I decided to apply to the minor and not once have I regretted it. This minor has brought me a passionate, caring community, it’s inspired me to push past my comfort zone, and it’s challenged me to grow as a designer, a student, and a human.”
The entrepreneurship and innovation class is one of the best decisions I have made in my adult education. It allows me to be more creative, confident, and open-minded than any other class I’ve ever taken. The atmosphere in the classroom is liberating and powerful. Potentially being able to start my own venture when I get out of college with the help of professors, mentors, and peers and surrounding myself with people who want to do the same thing is truly amazing. The idea of starting my own business gives me butterflies in my stomach. I’m so excited to see where this journey takes me.
For current and prospective Western Washington University students there has likely not yet been a time in our lives with as much grand uncertainty as we face now, entrepreneurship is definitively the practice of turning visionary solutions to problems into reality, under uncertain circumstances. Here at WWU Entrepreneurship and Innovation the program is devoted to turning the students of today into the changemakers of tomorrow. I wholeheartedly believe that there is no skill set more timely than that of the Innovator. Consider enrolling with us, either in a 1-Credit offering to get some insight into the sort of opportunities communally and educationally available through our program.