Fresno City vCollege highlighted former as well as current students in the Entrepreneur Unplugged event hosted by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization on Feb. 26 in the Faculty Dining Hall.
High school students from around the county attended the event which strove to keep them motivated and interested in higher education.
The students were welcomed by a short activity that served as an ice breaker, followed by three guest speakers and ending with a lunch which allowed students to network amongst one another.
The first speaker, Stephanie Reilly is the designer and CEO of POParazzi, a jewelry line that Reilly began herself at the age of 18. Her business launched off in Aug. 2007 due to the funding she received a scholarship from the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Now looking to expand her business, Reilly hopes to add a line of handbags, luggage, makeup, perfume and shoes to her existing brand. Reilly’s pieces have been spotted in the hands of various celebrities and are currently becoming more popular amongst the younger generations.
Mike Provonost, another FCC student, was featured in the CEO event. Provonost is the Founder and CEO of Powerband Internet, a service that acceler Fresno City College highlighted former as well as current students in the Entrepreneur Unplugged event hosted by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization on Feb. 26 in the Faculty Dining Hall.
High school students from around the county attended the event which strove to keep them motivated and interested in higher education.
The students were welcomed by a short activity that served as an ice breaker, followed by three guest speakers and ending with a lunch which allowed students to network amongst one another.
The first speaker, Stephanie Reilly is the designer and CEO of POParazzi, a jewelry line that Reilly began herself at the age of 18. Her business launched off in Aug. 2007 due to the funding she received a scholarship from the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Now looking to expand her business, Reilly hopes to add a line of handbags, luggage, makeup, perfume and shoes to her existing brand. Reilly’s pieces have been spotted in the hands of various celebrities and are currently becoming more popular amongst the younger generations.
Mike Provonost, another FCC student, was featured in the CEO event. Provonost is the Founder and CEO of Powerband Internet, a service that accelerates dial up, DSL, or Cable Internet connections to speeds much faster than usual. Beginning the company from the comfort of his own home, this 18 year old prodigy began his career at 16 where he founded ‘Extreme PC Parts’ and later working for Dan Gamel’s Inc.
After graduating from San Joaquin Memorial in 2008 and attending Fresno City College, Microsoft, took Provonost as a partner.
“My business was built basically on trial and error,” Provonost said.
The last speaker to address the crowd of young students was Marc Raygoza, Founder and President of Vine Global Solutions. Raygoza first began working for companies such as Buy.com, Toyota Motors USA, Washington Mutual as well as Heidrick and Struggles. After attending FCC, he continued on to Carnegie Mellon University and California State University, Fresno.
Annette Escobedo, a junior from Roosevelt High School felt that the presentation was one of the many students that attended the event.
“I wanted to know more about business,” Escobedo said. She went on to add, “[the conference] gave me inspiration to keep going and not stop.”
