The Diller Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation hosted a business expo in the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) on Thursday.
Rebecca Gardner, assistant director of Entrepreneurship and Business Outreach, helped organize the expo.
“This expo was designed not for businesses to sell their product,” Gardner said, “But for students to engage with businesses and to learn from them.”
Of the 20 businesses scheduled for the event, 12 attended, including electrical contractors, trophy manufacturers and chambers of commerce. The Diller Center and the Shippensburg University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) announced the expo to its email base of about 500 businesses. The businesses in attendance volunteered to come and share their knowledge with students.
The expo was held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., and Gardner believed many businesses did not attend because the expo was in the middle of the workday. However, she said that the time slot was essential since many students were not in class.
Georgina Cranston, executive director for the Greencastle Antrim Chamber of Commerce, represented the chamber at the expo.
“Small businesses are the hum of our economy,” Cranston said. “Small business is vital, it’s important. So, what better place to promote it than a university?”
Ultimately, the Diller Center strives to serve the students. “We try to provide students with opportunities to reach out to local businesses and learn the skills necessary for running a business,” Gardner said.
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