Honors students create business plan for local nonprofit organization

Proposals establish plans for a computer repair business that will be run by Rhode Island veterans with disabilities.

Students in one of Management Lecturer Dave Greenan’s “Business 101” honors classes took part in a version of Donald Trump’s hit reality show “The Apprentice.” Instead of hearing “You’re Fired,” however, everyone came out a winner – including the local organization the students partnered with and the veterans who will benefit from the program.

The class spent the fall semester working with Capitol Region Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a Providence, RI-based nonprofit organization that places people over the age of 55 into meaningful volunteer assignments. The 24 students in the class were divided into five groups with each team creating a business plan to establish a computer repair company that will employ veterans. (To learn more, visit Capitol Region RSVP.)

(L-R) Front row:Allia Afifi ’12 (Yorktown Heights, NY), Courtney Weiss ’12 (Mystic, CT), and Capitol Region RSVP director Susan Contreras. (Back row) Kenneth Sousa, Bryant associate professor of computer information systems and Honors Program coordinator; Matthew McGrath ’12 (Boylston, MA), Jarrod Mead ’12 (West Kingston, RI), Stephen Burgess ’12 (Southborough, MA), and Management Lecturer Dave Greenan. The students were members of "Veteran Technology."

Earlier this week, each group presented their 100-plus page proposals that included market research, advertisements, operations, reconstruction plans for the storefront facility, and income statements to Greenan and Susan Contreras, director of Capitol Region RSVP.

The new business, which will open on Cortland Street in Providence, will repair computers and sell refurbished computers with the profits being invested back into the company. The goal is that after receiving training, the veterans will be better equipped to secure jobs in the field or create their own businesses. The launch of the facility is being funded by a $200,000 grant secured by Senator Jack Reed.

“This project has been one of the most vibrant learning and community-based service project experiences that I have seen in my time at Bryant,” says Greenan. “I believe that all of us who have been involved have walked away with a better understanding of business, our community, and, most importantly, ourselves and the responsibility we have to give back to the community in which we live.”

Making a difference

Before picking the winning plan, Conteras commended all of the students for their work and emphasized that she would incorporate parts of each of the proposals into the final plan.

“This project couldn’t have been done without the help of the Bryant students,” says Contreras. “Everything that was presented to me was done very professionally, and Bryant should be very proud of their work. I was thrilled to work with them.”

(L-R) "Computer Colonels" members Kyla Briggs '12 (North Hampton, NH), Stephanie Barrett '12 (Plaistow, NH), Christina Knips '12 (Wappingers Falls, NY), Matt Woodbury '12 (Charlestown, NH), and Christopher Brida '12 (Southampton, MA).

The winning team, “Veteran Technology,” included Allia Afifi ’12 (Yorktown Heights, NY), Stephen Burgess ’12 (Southborough, MA), Matthew McGrath ’12 (Boylston, MA), Jarrod Mead ’12 (West Kingston, RI), and Courtney Weiss ’12 (Mystic, CT).

Mead, the team’s CEO, says he has a better understanding of how nonprofit organizations operate and their role in society. “The most important part of this project was to try to help the community by improving the standard of living for veterans and putting plans in place to help enhance their skills.”

Jaclyn Savickas ’12 (Holden, MA), the director of survey analysis for the “Computer Rebooters” team, says her group learned how difficult it can be for veterans with disabilities to return to the workforce.

(L-R) "Computer Rebooters" members Sam Marks '12 (Marstons Mills, MA), Jaclyn Savickas '12 (Holden, MA), Kayla Rooney '12 (Keene, NH), Taryn Johnson '12 (Nashua, NH), and Dan Thompson '12 (Pascoag, RI).

“The new company is a great way for them to feel needed and be part of their community,” she says. “Sometimes we take what we have for granted. I know that many of the students in the class felt good to help others in need, and we have a new appreciation for people like Ms. Conteras who help the less fortunate every day.”

Throughout their research, students worked to build relationships that would help the organization thrive. One group looked into creating a partnership with local schools, and another secured a donation from Best Buy.

(L-R) "VetTech" members Meredith Failla '12 (Williston Park, NY), Tara Calnan '12 (Bellingham, MA), Brittany Kmetz '12 (Westerly, RI), Talia Aviani '12 (East Rockaway, NY), Joelle Sopariwala '12 (Old Saybrook, CT).

During the presentation, of “The Computer Colonels,” Christina Knips ’12 (Wappingers Falls, NY), the group’s CEO, informed Contreras that the Bryant women’s rugby coach, Eric Catalozzi, offered to do any carpentry work for free. He is active in the armed services and will be returning to Iraq in the spring.

A veteran who recently earned a certificate in project management from Bryant’s Executive Development Center will begin to implement the plan in January. A grand opening for the shop is slated for the spring.

A forum to learn

Naa Amerley Sackey ’12 (Accra North, Ghana), the operations manager in, “ProviTech Troopers,” says these projects allow students to take their learning outside of the classroom.

“The mark of an excellent student is the ability to apply classroom-based theories in the real world,” she says. “It is important that professors offer an opportunity to students to put into practice what they learn from lectures, and the Business 101 class is a prime example of how learning can be made vibrant for students.”

Joshua Grolman ’12 (Johannesburg, South Africa), who served as the CEO of ProviTech Troopers, says the experience gave him a glimpse into the inner workings of a nonprofit organization.

(L-R) "ProviTech Troopers" members Mitchell Cameron '12 (Hanson, MA), Naa Amerley Sackey ’12 (Accra North, Ghana), Joshua Grolman ’12 (Johannesburg, South Africa), and Anthony Driscoll '11 (Seaford, NY).

“Research for the project brought to light many areas of the non-monetary side of commerce, and this inspired me to look into working in the nonprofit sector after graduation,” he says.

Kenneth Sousa, Bryant associate professor of computer information systems and Honors Program coordinator, says the partnership gave students a forum to apply concepts they have learned in the classroom while providing the opportunity to help others.

“People are the most important resource in a business organization,” he says. “These projects put a ‘face’ on the stakeholders that will benefit from the implementation of the students’ work,” says Sousa.