To kick off the opening of the Sanders-Siebers Entrepreneurship Center, a week-long book giveaway was held for all Transy students. In collaboration with Awesome Ink, the center was able to provide enough copies of The Unbridled Spirit (volumes 1 and 2) for every student on campus. The Unbridled Spirit is a collection of lessons in business from Kentucky’s most successful entrepreneurs, many of whom are Transy grads.
To find out more about the new Entrepreneurship Center, I sat down with the Interim Director Kaelyn Query to get a better understanding of the new space.
Kaelyn discussed how the Center for Entrepreneurship program started in 2021. There was no physical space, but there was programming. The purpose of the center was to have a place where students interested in business ownership or entrepreneurship could have a place to learn, explore, gain experience, and make connections. She elaborated that the goal of this new center is still the same, but now with a physical space. It’s a place where students can grow a business concept or learn how they may start their own business one day.
In addition to offering classes, the center will offer regular programming. This will include workshops, lunch and learns, speaker series, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities. Kaelyn emphasized that the goal is to get students connected to people working in fields they have an interest in. It also presents the opportunity for people who may just want to learn more.
Kaelyn emphasized that, “It doesn’t have to be that they own a business. It could also be that they just manage a business one day, which will be a lot of students here at Transy. So our goal is to get them in front of a number of programs and events and people to explore that.”
The space is open to all Transy students of all differing interests. In our interview Kaelyn said, “We’ve got folks coming in teaching sculpture classes related to starting your own studio. We’re working with a business professional in Lexington who owns a music studio, and he’s gonna come and teach people how to get started in the music business if that’s what you think you wanna do one day.”
While the space is business-focused, it’s not just for business students. Kaelyn encourages all students to use the space. Whether it’s for studying, meeting with a group, or for an event, it is open and available to use. She further explains, “We tried to set up the space so that it could be functional for a number of things. So all the furniture is movable, it’s all modular. So we really want it to be a space that’s used for everybody.” Outside of Tuesday and Thursday classes and the occasional event, the space is open and ready to use.
Kaelyn also encourages students to contact the Center if they have ideas for programming that they would like to see within the Center. She notes, “If somebody’s interested in learning how to make esports a career or a business, we can do that. It doesn’t have to just be what we create if another department, division, student, or group has something that they want us to help with, we’re happy to do that. And we would love to do that.”
The Entrepreneurship Center partnered with Awesome Ink for their book giveaway to kick off the opening of the center. The Unbridled Spirit is a collection from the first ten years of inductees into the Kentucky Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. The books were chosen because of the varying backgrounds of the Entrepreneurs. It is important to note that many graduated from Transylvania. The Unbridled Spirit gives a unique look at how they got started, why they created their business in the first place, and the trials they encountered. Kaelyn discussed that, “We didn’t want it to just be business students because there are so many stories in there that aren’t about business-related industries. So that’s our goal with giving those books out and we hope that it sparks passion for people in a way outside of not being a business major.”
All of the programs that the center offers don’t require taking any specific classes. Kaelyn mentioned that the center’s goal for students is for them “literally just to learn more about entrepreneurship, do more in entrepreneurship, and network”.
Kaelyn mentioned to be on the lookout for more events and news from the center. She noted that, “We’re working with the Morlan Gallery on a sculptor that’s coming in that will also do some workshops here about commissioning your own art and opening your own studio. We’re working with the IT department on a coding event which will be in May.”
The center is currently gearing up for the fall semester to begin programming and events. For more information and updates, go to: https://www.transy.edu/academics/center-for-entrepreneurship/ if interested in getting involved with the Entrepreneurship club, contact Jbroecker28@transy.edu.
