What a great start to the 2011-2012 academic year for the CEO Network and the Building Business Leaders Project!
The term began welcoming the second cohort of thirty freshman protégés. The group boasts an average 3.6 high school gpa and students hail from as close as Eugene Oregon to California, Nevada and Washington. A significant change in this second group’s experience was to route those who requested on-campus housing to one Residence Hall. With 90% of the students living in the same hall it fosters their sense of community and encourages them to work together on the larger issues of transitioning to college life. Protégé Alyssa reflected on her first term challenges and shares,
“The reason I came to the U.O. is because of the Cohort and the reason that I am staying at the U.O. is because of the Cohort. This Cohort has given me the strength and the desire to keep pushing through all of my worries and my homesickness in order to gain what we all are working towards: to get into the business school.”
The teamwork approach based on learning and leadership styles to drive academic performance impacted the group academic confidence. The group finished fall term with an average 3.33 cumulative gpa.
Our second year cohort maintains 75% of its original members. The persistence of these students to complete the pre-business curriculum is PRIMARY success to report coming out of the project. Persistence rates of under-represented minority students typically fall to an average of 30% by the beginning of the second year. The cohort model is proving to engage these target markets and encourage them to continue pursuing business despite adversity.
The term started out with a successful networking event hosted by Oregon Black Business Alliance. Held at Ninkasi Brewery protégés got to tour the facilities and have one-on-one interaction with the owners of the fastest growing micro-brew in the nation. Local entertainer Clarence Williams debued Prime Example and dozens of professionals from the OBBA practiced networking skils with protégés. Other term excursions included an evening with Kenny Weaton at his fundraising event for the Kenny Weaton Foundation. The term excursions included dinner with Former President Richard Larivierre and network socials to interact with junior and senior business students.
Lastly, we partnered with our first minority owned business, Qreative Partnerships, to provide hands-on interaction with an entrepreneurial venture. Protégés got to interact with Quentin Harley, CEO at the Launch party of the Building Business Leaders QR Code as well as design a marketing strategy for the company’s “O Code” shirts sold at the UO Duck Store. See our “Featured Partners” Page for more highlights.
