Bryant’s CEO chapter is best in the country
The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at Bryant is ranked # 1 out of 150 chapters in the nation.
On November 3, Bryant’s chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) was selected as the best in the nation. The chapter was chosen from among 150 other schools at the organization’s annual conference in Chicago.
With 52 Bryant students attending, only one school – Texas Christian University, with an undergraduate enrollment of nearly three times that of Bryant – had more members at the conference.
The organization was judged the best for a long list of accomplishments over the past year including:
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Increasing attendance at the first meeting to nearly 150 from 80
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Participating in the Pumpkin Fest organized by Life is Good®, which set a world record for carved pumpkins and helped raise money for kids with terminal illnesses
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Organizing two of the world’s largest campuswide Elevator Pitch competitions for “Business 101” students
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Cosponsoring the Purple Cow Competition, a contest that challenged students to generate outlandish marketing concepts for Rhode Island brewery Newport Storm
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Raising more than $12,000 in corporate sponsorships
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Hosting Life is Good® co-founders Bert and John Jacobs for a speaking program on campus
This was the second year in a row that Bryant’s CEO program was in the spotlight at the national conference. Last year, Matt Wilson ’08 (Stormville, NY) was named Best Chapter President.
These accolades are made that much sweeter by the organization’s meteoric rise over the last two years, which saw membership grow from only eight members at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year to nearly 150 members this year.
Days after receiving the award, CEO’s leaders were still reveling in the thrill of their accomplishment.
“This award is the result of hard work, passion, dedication, and innovation, and it belongs to every single member in our chapter,” says Tyler Fishback ’09 (North Providence, RI), chair of the public relations committee.
Says Wilson, the CEO president, “No words can describe how inspired I have been by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization during my years here at Bryant. I'm just lucky to have been a part of such a dynamic group.”
Wilson, who led a conference session titled “How to Think Entrepreneurially and How to Get Ahead Unconventionally,” says the goal of CEO is to support an entrepreneurial and enterprising mindset, while encouraging students to think outside the box and create their own career paths. This entrepreneurial spirit is no more evident than in Wilson and Fishback who have both created their own businesses specializing in property maintenance and car detailing respectively.
Shawna Haggerty ’08 (Upton, MA), the executive project manager of CEO, says the sky is the limit for the organization going forward. She has helped develop a set of guidebooks to facilitate leadership succession and knowledge transfer that will help future CEO members continue the success of the organization.
Moving forward, the CEO is advocating for the creation of an entrepreneurship minor at Bryant and is working to grow a non-profit consulting business started earlier this year. Instead of focusing on profits, the hope is that as the consulting business grows, clients will contribute in other ways – like being guest speakers or providing internships for Bryant students.
“I am extremely proud of our organization, and I know the future holds nothing but success for Bryant University's CEO Chapter,” says Haggerty, who would like to establish her own event-planning company in the future.
For Bryant’s Mike Roberto, trustee professor of management and CEO chapter advisor, the work of the organization simulates what students will be doing in their careers following graduation.
“Organizations like the CEO provide a complement to what goes on in the classroom, allowing students to pursue their passions and interests with those who have similar interests and career goals,” he says.
Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Executive Board
President: Matt Wilson ’08 (Stormville, NY)
Vice President: Ryan Jaswell ’08 (Cranston, RI)
Events Coordinator: Shawna Haggerty ’08 (Upton, MA)
Secretary: Allison LaBonte ’08 (Southbridge, MA)
CFO: Eric Slater ’10 (Lindenhurst, NY)
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