This afternoon, scores of students, alumni and visitors will convene at Stamp Student Union for the UMD Entrepreneurship Invitational, which itself kicks off the university’s “30 Days of EnTERPreneurship” program. The highlight of the day will be the Cupid’s Cup, a business competition for students and alumni that will award $25,000 in prize money to five finalists.
Elsewhere on the campus and in College Park, students will spend the afternoon and evening relaxing from a long week of interning, working at one or more part- or full-time jobs and – somewhere in there – fitting in classes and schoolwork. Tonight, dollars will be pooled, bank accounts will be checked and quarters will be found under couch cushions as students scrounge up the cash for an extra case of Natty Light or a visit to the McDonald’s Value Menu.
You see, college students – both graduate and undergraduate – are world-renowned hustlers. We’re here for an education, but sometimes it takes financial creativity to pay for food and entertainment, to say nothing of housing, transportation and tuition. We drive the Department of Transportation’s midnight shift drunk bus, trade semester-end trips to Adele’s for favors and start dorm-room enterprises, all in pursuit of that sweet nectar – cash money.
Put simply, we’re entrepreneurs.
In past decades, the collegiate spirit of entrepreneuriship was extinguished soon after graduation by comfortable employment. Recent graduates would settle with an employer, fully assured of their future financial and physical health by the promise of a hearty pension and affordable health insurance. Most men earned enough money to support the entire family. Most middle- and upper-class folks didn’t need to work multiple jobs to make ends meet (like poor people), which is perhaps why “hustle” carries a traditionally nefarious connotation.
But that may be changing. Writing for CNN recently, LZ Granderson explored the “fascinating dynamic reshaping our thinking about what we do for a living. Some of us will always go into professions, but others are learning to become professionals: nimble, multi-skilled job creators for ourselves.” Or, as Jay-Z puts it, “I’m not a businessman; I’m a business, man.”
Strangely enough, university President Wallace Loh seems to be channeling a similar notion as he pushes for more innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives at this institution. The university launched a 15-credit technology entrepreneurship minor last fall, and in February, Loh announced plans for a new entrepreneurship center. Details have yet to be finalized, but the main thrust is that Loh believes all students should be required to learn about innovation in some capacity before they graduate.
“In the 21st century, we can no longer just be a research university,” Loh said. “Your obligation is not just to create new knowledge; your obligation, if it’s what you want to do, is to create this new knowledge, this new idea, into a new business, into a commercializable product.”
Even without the center, opportunities to explore entrepreneurship are abound: The Dingman Center provides resources for business startups, the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (which will soon be expanded) focuses on technology innovation, and the Office of Technology Communication provides assistance on patents and licensing. The Honors College features the Entrepreneurship and Innovation living and learning program, and Loh agreed to collaborate with Delhi University on innovation and entrepreneurship projects during a November trip to India. Over the next 30 days, this university will award nearly $250,000 in various business and innovation awards through six competitions. The university’s goal is to create 100 companies over the next 10 years, and Loh is clearly dedicated to reaching that goal – as is Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is set to speak at the Cupid’s Cup this afternoon.
For students, the current scenario presents a bit of a perfect storm: Just as we work the typical college hustle, the university is giving us the tools to perfect our craft – while the economy simultaneously shifts to benefit those with such a skillset. There’s nothing wrong with spending a career under one employer, but no longer can that be the expectation.
So get out there and hustle – but first, work on your elevator pitch.
