For the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, celebrating a new office space meant music, free food, and an abundance of information for students interested in starting their own businesses. In September students at Brigham Young University were invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to learn more about the center’s new south campus space and its services for BYU entrepreneurs.
The event kicked off with a short greeting from TaraLee Cook, associate director of the Rollins Center, and remarks from Director Mike Hendron. “This is an exciting day,” he said, welcoming the event’s attendees. “This has been, as I like to say, a many-years journey.”
Up until mid-April, the center operated out of several offices in the Tanner Building. However, when the South Campus Office Building became available, the center moved and expanded. Hendron shared that the building, once used as a shrub sciences laboratory, was completely remodeled to become the space it is today.
“Come back and spend some time here when you can actually relax,” he encouraged. “Talk about entrepreneurial ideas. Make friends and connections. We’ll help you all on your entrepreneurial journey. That’s why we built this space. That’s why we invested in this space.”
After Hendron’s speech, the bright red entrance ribbon was cut amid a shower of sparkling silver confetti. Students then visited different informational booths, run by the center’s partner organization iHub, several center-supported student businesses, and various entrepreneurial-related BYU organizations, including Creators, Women in Entrepreneurship (WE), Sandbox, and Social Venture Academy.
To Dusty Latu, an entrepreneurial management senior from Orem and president of the Entrepreneurial Association, the chance to engage in entrepreneurship is more than just a chance to try new things. “As entrepreneurs, we’re tapping into our God-given gift to create something that wasn’t originally there,” she explained. She appreciates how the Rollins Center supports an entrepreneur’s creation process.
Student associations, funding, and extensive mentoring and networking opportunities are just a few of the resources the Rollins Center offers students. This support is not just limited to those majoring or minoring in entrepreneurship, but rather it is available to all students who want to grow their business skills and explore entrepreneurship. “There is a resource for everyone,” explains Samantha Jex, an entrepreneurial management student from Prescott, Arizona, who also serves as president of WE. “Even if you aren’t an entrepreneurship major, you can get grants and funding, and it’s a great way to figure out what you want to do.”
Commenting on the new space back in April, BYU President Shane Reese tied the impact of the Rollins Center to BYU’s mission: helping students embrace both academic competency and religious conviction to make a profound difference in the world. “When I think of what happens here in the Rollins Center, and what will happen within the confines of this space, it is so vital that students have a location where the student experience can be strengthened,” he said. “That they walk out of here with the courage to be different. That we develop students who are disciple scholars, who are disciple entrepreneurs. That's what I love about what this space is going to offer to them.”
Students interested in learning more about the Rollins Center can visit the new office at 735 N 500 E, Provo, or visit the center’s website at: https://marriott.byu.edu/cet/.
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Written by Katie Brimhall