N.C. A&T Offers Entrepreneurial Counseling Clinic for Students

Editor's note: This event has been canceled. However, as organizers monitor the covid-19 situation, it may be held later this semester or next semester. 

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 6, 2020) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics offer a series of counseling sessions designed to assist students who own a business or are thinking about starting one.

“We bring in professionals from the community to work with students and offer real-world advice, guidance and suggestions for making their business successful,” said Thaddeus McEwen, Ph.D., professor in the Deese College Department of Management and founding director of the Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “Receiving mentoring from practicing entrepreneurs complements the work students perform in the classroom.”

The entrepreneurial counseling clinic is offered during the spring and fall semesters. It has been available to students for many years in collaboration with SCORE and the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), both of which are partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer expert business mentors, while the SBTDC is a business advisory resource whose offices are hosted by the University of North Carolina System. Both organizations routinely provide counselors for the clinic, McEwen said.

Other counselors represent Greensboro-area startups and some have gone through the same programs in which students are enrolled, McEwen said. For example, former N.C. A&T student FaLon Thomas, founder and CEO of Onyx Ocean Technologies Inc., is one of this spring’s five counselors.

“For the counselors, it’s a good feeling to know you’re helping someone who wants to learn and succeed,” said McEwen. “For us, this is another way to bring the community into the classroom and provide our students with a meaningful education.”

Every session with a counselor is by appointment only at the times and dates the counselor is available in Craig Hall Room 337. The counselors and their schedules for this spring are:

• FaLon Thomas, Session 1: Tuesday, March 10, 11 a.m.-noon; Thursday, March 12, noon-1 p.m.; Tuesday, April 14, 1-2 p.m.
• Kenneth Cham, former corporate executive and current small business counselor with SCORE, Session 2: Monday, March 9, 1-2 p.m.; Wednesday, March 11, 1-2 p.m.; Wednesday, April 8, 1-2 p.m.
• Tonya Foster, co-founder and vice president of CORE Technology, Session 3: Tuesday, March 17, 1-2 p.m. and Tuesday, April 14, 1-2 p.m.
• Anthony Abney, business launch specialist with the SBTDC, Session 4: Wednesday, March 11, 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m. and 11 a.m.-noon and Wednesday, April 8, 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m. and 11 a.m.-noon
• Ingrid Bullock, business counselor with the SBTDC, Session 5: Wednesday, March 18, 2-3 p.m., 3-4 p.m. and 4-5 p.m. and Wednesday, April 15, -3 p.m., 3-4 p.m. and 4-5 p.m.

To make an appointment, contact McEwen at 336-285-4280 or mcewent@ncat.edu.