Going into college with a major figured out can feel like one of the hardest decisions as a student. It makes you feel like you need to have your career figured out before you even start freshman year! I remember feeling this way. There were so many majors to choose from, and I had no idea where to begin. I had some ideas as to what my interests were but I was worried that I would be locked into whatever major I declared freshman year. I decided to declare a Communications major. I was not sure what specifically I wanted to do with the major but I felt it could generally be viewed as a “do anything” major. My hope was that maybe after taking a few classes I would have things figured out.
My first semester consisted of a few required courses and some electives, and when it came time to sign up for spring semester courses, I decided to register for Lean Launchpad, one of the classes for the Entrepreneurship major. I was curious what the entrepreneurship department was about and had considered doing something in business. I thought it might be interesting to try. Toward the end of the spring semester, through this team-oriented class, my team and I had come up with a business idea for course work and were having a lot of success in the class. Interviews were an important part of the data gathering process when we were building our business idea. I would constantly receive comments about my ability to give interviews, ask questions, and speak clearly. Since giving interviews was new to me, I was excited to hear feedback like this from professors and teacher’s assistants. Our greatest accomplishment in the class was when we qualified as finalists for the Grove City College Wolverine Venture Battle. This is an opportunity where students compete in pitching their company to a panel of judges to see who has the most viable business. We took second place and won over $6,000 as a team.
After the Wolverine Venture Battle, I realized I had the ability to be an entrepreneur. I decided, after thinking through my options seriously, that I would change my major from Communications to Entrepreneurship. This was a big change for me, since I had not considered entrepreneurship that seriously before. But I was receiving so much encouragement from friends, family, and faculty at the college that I had an entrepreneurial ability.
I am now an Entrepreneurship and Biblical and Religious Studies double major. I have loved every Entrepreneurship class I have taken so far and have learned so much in each of them. Since completing Lean Launchpad, my friend and I decided to launch the company we began in the class and are excited to see where it leads.
