By Chelsea L. McDowell

Reporter

CSU Bakersfield held its first Club Fair outside of the Career Center Jan. 31 to showcase the options the campus has to offer students.

The Entrepreneurship Club is one of those options.

Indiana native Jeremy Woods is the advisor and co-founder of the Entrepreneurship Club. He is also a management professor in his fourth year on campus.

It was spring 2017 when he collaborated with two students, Ellisa McCoy—who is now club president—and another student who has since graduated.

The objective was to create a club with the intent to connect CSUB students with local business owners and entrepreneurs. The club would focus on building new businesses.

“We’ve had a couple meetings this year so far,” Woods said. “I’d say, there’s probably ten members at this point. We’re still pretty small … We’d love to have new members.”

Jose Martinez, a third year graduate student with a masters in social work, was interested in the Entrepreneurship Club as well.

“I used to own two businesses before, so it’s something I’ve always been interested in. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss,” said Martinez.

To gather potential members, Woods speaks to classrooms as a representative and then emails students that express a curiosity in the club to inform them when the meetings occur.

“The main goal of the club is to put students in touch with local entrepreneurs for mentoring and doing projects,” Woods said.

This is something that the nearly one-year-old club has yet to accomplish. A lack of members prevents the club from obtaining its key objective.

The Entrepreneurship Club has only met twice this school year and the meeting room differs. When they do meet, topics include the option of paying dues, stimulating projects they can work on, and fundraising ideas.

Woods said any student who wants to start their own business, but doesn’t have one yet is encouraged

to join the club for possible mentorships the club may have to offer.

Dylan-Wyatt Aguilera, sophomore psychology major, is a member of the Jewish, all-inclusive Delta Beta Tau fraternity. Aguilera, like so many of his fellow CSUB students, was unaware of the Entrepreneurship club and what they do for the campus.

“If I knew what it was, I might join it,” Aguilera said.

While the Entrepreneurship club has not produced the kind of turn-out Woods had thought it would originally, he is optimistic for its future.

“I see a core of students who are interested in Entrepreneurship,” Woods said. “Working closely together with local entrepreneurs to build value on projects.”

Any CSUB student interested in joining the club is encouraged to contact Jeremy Woods at: (213) 400-0829.