Albright Entrepreneurs Village Students Explore Entrepreneurship Beyond Raleigh

There are several ways students interested in entrepreneurship can learn about “all the exciting things happening in North Carolina,” as Ahmed Ali, director of the Albright EntrepreneursVillage (AEV), puts it. But, one of the best ways to do so might be the trip to Charlotte, North Carolina that NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers to AEV students over fall break.

During this trip, the nine students visited an NC State alumnus, Kavel Bhathela, co-founder of DB Diagnostics, the Independent Picture House, an independent movie theater, attended a networking dinner and had a look at UNC Charlotte’s Entrepreneurship program.

For Tochukwu Aniekwensi, a third-year studying chemical engineering, the highlight of the trip for him was meeting a founder who graduated from NC State. “We had a long conversation where he talked about how, during COVID, he started a business where he sold COVID testing kits,” Aniekwensi said. 

He was impressed with the founder’s work ethic and that the meeting showed Aniekwensi the importance of being prepared. “He was a pharmacist, he was looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity, and then COVID hit,” Aniekwensi said. “There’s no such thing as luck, it’s just a mixture of being prepared and seizing the opportunity.” 

Aniekwensi lives in the Albright Entrepreneurs Village and said he heard about the fall break trip to Charlotte in a class offered exclusively to the residents of the Albright Entrepreneurs Village.

The networking dinner also allowed students to connect with other entrepreneurs and gain valuable insights. “We had some good conversations about entrepreneurial ideas,” Aniekwensi said about the dinner. 

Jared Sitton, a fourth-year studying computer science even had a career opportunity presented to him during the dinner. Another big hit for Sitton on the trip was touring the independent movie theater. “They’re a nonprofit, and they took us through their whole business model and gave us a good sense of how nonprofits operate and how they’re able to be successful,” Sitton said.

Ali who organized the trip felt it was important to visit UNC Charlotte’s Entrepreneurship program. “They also have a really big engineering program, so I wanted our students to make that bridge,” he said.

“We were able to talk to their coordinator for Entrepreneurship, and we were able to compare how things are organized,” Sitton said about the visit to UNC Charlotte. 

In addition to all the opportunities to learn more about Entrepreneurship, the students had the chance to explore the city of Charlotte at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and on a haunted walking tour through downtown Charlotte.

“I’m very appreciative that Ahmed [Ali] and Sydney [Russell] put in a ton of work to make this trip happen,” Sitton said, “They’re so passionate about what they do and they want to get everyone excited and it showed in the quality of the trip.

Students can apply to the Albright Entrepreneurs Village through MyPack Portal until February 2, 2025.