The Santa Fe CIED, in conjunction with FloridaWorks, recently completed a 10-week training seminar for 46 high school students on technology and its evolving role in entrepreneurship development. The seminar was taught by David Massias, founder of New Beginnings Venture.
The students met with entrepreneurs, chief executive officers, and community leaders who shared their personal stories of growth and success, and detailed how they started their companies. They included Jamie Grooms, co-founder and former CEO of Regeneration Technologies and Axogen; Bryan Da Frota, CEO of Prioria Robotics, Inc.; Eric Buffkin, co-founder and president of eTect; Randy Scott, former CEO of Novamin Technology Inc., and many more.
All students were presented with an iPad to enhance their communication, research, writing, technology and financial literacy skills.
The students will now engage in a collaborative project to heighten their voices and presence in the surrounding community and start full-time internships. Upon completion of this program, all students will have applied to Santa Fe.
“This program was a natural fit for Santa Fe College as we are invested both in the local innovation community and in serving the needs of our diverse constituents district-wide,” said Dug Jones, Assistant Vice-President of Economic Development. “This opportunity to help bring technology and entrepreneurial training to students from challenging backgrounds was extremely appealing. FloridaWorks has been a great workforce training partner for years and now New Beginnings Ventures added great value to this undertaking as a strong private sector partner.”
The students were presented certificates on Tuesday at GTEC’s 10th anniversary celebration.
“It was important to remind the young participants that entrepreneurship drives responsibility for community awareness,” said Massias. “This begins by acknowledging the reality that each have started their own company called Me, Inc.”
Massias emphasized with that company comes: Stewardship over their investment from teachers, friends and family; marketing to brand themselves as having integrity, dependability and tenacity; and return-on-investment to care for their community.