LUMBERTON — Thirty members of Robeson Community College’s staff and faculty graduated from the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program on March 29.
The program was a partnership between RCC and the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub. The Hub’s director, Thomas Hall, and entrepreneur Ed O’Neal facilitated the program. Participants met every Friday at RCC for eight weeks.
The Ice House Program is an experiential problem-based learning program designed to inspire and engage participants in the fundamental aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset. It was created by Gary Schoeniger, of the Entrepreneurship Learning Institute, and is based on the book “Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur,” a story that captures the essence of an entrepreneurial mindset and the unlimited opportunities it can provide. This book was written by Pulitzer Prize winner Clifton Taulbert along with Schoeniger, and profiles Clifton’s experience growing up in Mississippi in the 1950s working for his Uncle Clive in the Ice House, and learning about the entrepreneurial mindset from him.
“An entrepreneurial mindset shifts everyday thinking into a new framework, empowering people to identify problems and deploy solutions using creative and critical thinking, effective problem solving, communication, and teamwork.” Schoeniger said. “And, in today’s rapidly changing, highly-complex world, the need for entrepreneurial thinkers at all levels of society has never been greater.”
The plan is to expand the program throughout the area. Future participants are anticipated to be eighth-graders in Pembroke, start-ups at the Hub, government and business leaders in Red Springs, Pembroke and Lumberton, all incoming business school freshmen, and several workforce development groups.
