Bunker Hill Community College Will Tweet to Recruit
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Community Center for Entrepreneurship (CCE) at Bunker Hill Community College has won a third grant from the Coleman Foundation in as many years. Founded with a Coleman grant in 2008, the CCE will use this 2010 grant for $7,500 to apply the social networking technologies of tweeting and blogging to strengthen ties with high school students seeking to study entrepreneurship in college.
“The grant increases the connection between the high school students and their mentors at BHCC,” said Dean of Professional Studies Bogusia Wojciechowska, who oversees the entrepreneurship program. “This communication is essential in helping these students make the transition from high school to college.” Charlestown High School, Boston’s Quincy Upper School and Malden High School have completed agreements enabling students to earn college credits toward a business degree or an entrepreneurship certificate. BHCC plans to make agreements with up to ten more high schools this fall.
“The competition has become one of the most anticipated parts of our annual conference,” said Heather Van Sickle, executive director of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE). “Sixteen finalists gave a three-minute, in-person pitch to foundation representatives at our conference. Out of those 16 invited to pitch, 10 received grants.” NACCE announced the winners at its October conference.
The CCE runs speaker programs and workshops. Over the past year, BHCC has developed an entrepreneurship option within the associate degree in business as well as a Certificate in Entrepreneurship. As part of its celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 16-20), on Friday, November 20th the College will co-sponsor a collaborative event with the Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (YEA). This event will feature a YEA Teen Business presentation, introduce students to local business representatives, and provide a business mixer luncheon.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).