CEO-Edinburg attends global conference

Five UTRGV students participated in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s 38th Annual Global Conference & Pitch Competition from Oct. 28-30 in Tampa, Florida.

During the conference, CEO members, partners, investors and business advisers/mentors assembled to discuss strategy while planning post-pandemic innovative growth, according to the c-e-o.org website.

The weekend events featured keynote presenters, interactive bootcamps, workshops, an engaging simulation, chapter leadership development, mentor room meetings, an exhibit hall, a pitch competition and roulette networking. 

Ashley Wals, a biology senior and CEO-Edinburg president, said she wanted to attend because it is important to make connections with others around the world. 

“We got to, like, make connections, get along, socialize and, of course, you get to meet great people and everything that they do in their own chapters,” Wals said. “Overall, it was a great experience getting to know how to bring in more [members] because our organization is lacking in membership. So, being able to know those new opportunities that we can offer within UTRGV, I know CEO will eventually grow within the next two years.”

She said UTRGV participated in the simulation challenge, where students learned how to launch a new venture in a real-world simulation. 

“Our topic was, like, a 3D bicycle company and, basically, we had to, like, transform from marketing to the cash flow, to the IRS things, income, revenue,” Wals said. “It’s just to see if your company will actually, eventually succeed or not. So, it’s interesting. I had never done one. It was a challenge.”

She said of the five students that participated, only one was a business major. 

“Everything was new to us,” Wals said. “We had to adjust to it, like, quick on the spot, and we didn’t know the terminology we had to do, like, research and it was tough. But, I’m glad we were able to go through it. Overall, I enjoyed it and I’m going to miss it.”

Derek Abrams, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship and innovation, associate director for the Center of Innovation and Commercialization, and faculty advisor for the CEO-Edinburg, said the stimulation challenge worked for students of all majors. 

 “That’s one of the unique things about entrepreneurship. It doesn’t matter,” Abrams said. “Entrepreneurship happens in all industries. … You don’t have to be a business major. … You can run into, you know, people who are starting businesses in all the different industries, no matter what their major is. So, the business is going on in every field.”

He said this was a tremendous learning opportunity and experience for students. 

“[Students] get to meet diverse students from around the world who are also interested in entrepreneurship and have [different majors],” Abrams said. “They get to learn about entrepreneurship in all industries and from entrepreneurs, obviously, with different degree types. It’s an opportunity for them to gain confidence, experience [and] utilizing their developing skills from their major as it’s applied to entrepreneurship.”

He said the students also learned about effective leadership for a student organization chapter and how to manage it.  

“They get to develop their communication speaking in public speaking skills,” Abrams said. “For example, when they get the pitch or they can attend the pitch competitions, where you actually have to stand up on the stage and present your business idea. Doing those are all life skills, right, that will help you no matter what your chosen profession is. So, they get experienced with all that as well.” 

Clarissa Sepulveda, a biomedical sciences sophomore, said she would return to the conference because she learned a lot from the people there who had more experience than her.

“They were able to give us a lot of advice on how to start a business and how to maybe bring up a new business to someone and how to maybe get contacts,” Sepulveda said. “So, yes, I would definitely recommend it to somebody else, and I would definitely go back if I was given the chance to.”

She said the event that stood out to her the most was the pitch competition.

“They basically taught us how to speak to an entrepreneur … and I thought that that was very helpful because as a student, you don’t really know how to correctly, I guess, communicate with other people in the business aspect,” Sepulveda said. “And they were able to explain, like, what you say and what not to say or, like, what sounds better, what would be recommended.”

Orfelinda Sepulveda, a biomedical sciences senior and executive vice president of CEO-Edinburg, said the process to register for the conference was hectic because of the ongoing pandemic. 

“We were trying to decide whether it was safe to travel out to a different state, being that we were going to be surrounded by so many people coming from so many different states,” Orfelinda said. “So, finally, we decided that this was an opportunity that we needed to take as officers in order to develop our leadership skills and bring back a bunch of valuable information for our chapter.”

Yesenia Mireles, an international business senior and executive vice president of marketing and digital media of CEO-Edinburg, said the conference was an eye opening experience.

“It really introduced us to the entrepreneur side that is happening right now in the workforce, in the real world that’s apart from, you know, college affiliation,” Mireles said. “It really exposes you to know what people and executives and people who are older, who actually had a corporate job, you know, went through the whole, you know, college experience, graduating and then being in the workforce.”

She said she would recommend this conference to students because it puts them in a position of self evaluation.

“I know many people don’t know what to do post-graduation and seeing the same people who actually went through what you went through, have gotten their degrees, not only in the business area but in other degrees, and have made their own startup company and have been successful and they have gone through challenges and failures, like, it’s really nice to see that they’ve gone through this process recently,” Mireles said. “But, you can see how much this experience has made them realize that they can thrive, that they can do more than what we’re expected to believe that we can do.”

She said it was nice to see and hear the different backgrounds of the speakers and mentors. 

“They were answering questions, even if you don’t want to start a business,” Mireles said. “So they’ll still help you out to be your best self-home network. And, so, I think that that is something that every individual needs.”For more information on the student organization, visit Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization on V Link or email ceo.president.edinburg@gmail.com.