Ball State is home to one of the oldest entrepreneurship programs in the nation. On April 21, the Ball State Entrepreneurship program celebrated 33 years and honored the founder of the program, Donald Kuratko. The program, which took place at the Horizon Convention Center, also celebrated alumni and this year’s graduating class.
Krystal Geyer, the assistant director of the Ball State Entrepreneurship Center, said the program is one of a kind.
“Our program is pass or fail,” Geyer said. “Our students in the major will go through their four years and then present their business plan to a panel of alumni and executives and that is pass or fail.”
Geyer said there is a chance that even after the four years of studies, a student could end up failing and retaking an entire semester of classes.
The program, according to Geyer, demands students to put in more work than most entrepreneurship programs, especially on their business plan.
“There’s a lot riding on it; our students are of a particular make if you will. You have to be very intrinsically motivated; you have to be ready to put in the work,” Geyer said.
Adam Blazier, a recent alumnus of Ball State's Entrepreneurship program, is now a graduate student at Xavier University. Blazier said the program was a life changing experience and helped him become who he is today.
“If I could sum it up in one word, it would be transformational,” Blazier said. “The program transformed me into an outgoing person. It made me a lot more confident.”
When Blazier was going through the final stages of preparing to present his business plan last year, he said the stress was intense; however, the reward was worth it.
“I can’t even explain how stressful it was,” Blazier said. “The moment that they said I passed was one of the most memorable moments of my life.”
Eleven out of 13 seniors passed the business proposal part of the course this semester, and will be graduating this Saturday, May 6.
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