The Entrepreneurial Studies Program at Windermere Preparatory School Partners with the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and SunTrust Bank for Young Entrepreneurs Event

Windermere Preparatory School (WPS) is proud to announce a partnership with the Windermere branch of SunTrust Bank, and the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, for the upcoming co-presented “Young Entrepreneurs of WPS Pitch Event,” on April 30 from 6 PM to 9 PM. The event is open to the public and will be held in the SunTrust Building, on the Rollins College campus.

The event is part of the WPS initiative to enhance education through its Entrepreneurial Studies Program by giving students access to current entrepreneurs in the community, as the top five selected teams of ES students look to pitch their startup companies to a panel of seasoned investors.

The Entrepreneurial Studies Program was launched three years ago at WPS and students can enter the program in their Freshman year. The course is grounded in experiential learning where local entrepreneurs are utilized to teach students principals of business and entrepreneurship over three full years of curriculum.

The program, which currently has 60 students enrolled, was developed by Gary Conroy, Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at WPS, and who is also a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of The Startup Studio. As part of developing the program, Conroy identified multiple partners including SunTrust Bank and the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College from the Central Florida market to partner with the program to ensure that students are offered seamless access into the world of business and entrepreneurship as well as access to top third-level business schools.

“The Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship at the Crummer Graduate School of Business provides a variety of practical experiences, both in and out of the classroom, to promote successful entrepreneurship,” said Gabrielle Feulner, Assistant Director of the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship. “As the home of the Orlando region’s largest early-stage venture plan pitch competition for regional startups, we look forward to helping provide future entrepreneurs from WPS the opportunity to gain experience pitching their ideas to real investors.”

SunTrust Vice President, Financial Center Manager, Jhoanny Cardenas further added, “SunTrust is committed to advancing financial education throughout the communities we serve. Young Entrepreneurs offers a unique opportunity to help expose students to the world of banking and finance. We look forward to helping instill knowledge and information that will help enrich their lives into the future.”

The event will serve as a strong networking opportunity open to entrepreneurs, educators, parents, and to anyone looking to connect with this program.  All attendees will have the opportunity to meet the students currently enrolled, and to learn more about the startup companies they are developing.

Dr. Steven Lyng, Assistant Headmaster for WPS said, “There is no greater skill a student of the 21st century needs more than the ability to understand proper methods by which to execute on their ideas, to identify problems worth solving, and the ability to capture their solutions through the creation of impactful value propositions. We are so thrilled to have the Crummer Graduate School of Business and SunTrust Bank as partners, and we look forward to seeing this partnership grow over the next few years as we work together to bring experiential opportunities to our students as part of this program.”

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