Page 4 - Spring 2019

SCHOOL HAPPENINGS BUDDING ENTREPRENEUR BREWING UP SOLUTIONS
NEW MBA PROGRAM OPTIONS
Professionals pursuing careers where an
MBA is beneficial are often reluctant to
spend several more years in school. Seeing
the need for additional MBA formats, LSBE
now offers the 4+1 Integrated MBA and the
Accelerated 12-month MBA.
4+1: This format allows current LSBE
undergraduate students to start their MBA
during their senior year. Students take up to
nine credits that count towards their MBA,
graduating with both degrees in five years.
“I wanted to start my career with an MBA
at 23 years old,” says 4+1 MBA student
and finance major Austin Wolfe. “The
knowledge gained in the program will help
me in my career and allow me to maintain a
competitive edge as well.”
Not only does it take less time than a
traditional MBA, “it significantly reduces the
MBA program cost for LSBE students,” said
Al Roline, director of MBA programs.
Accelerated: This fully immersive one-year
program is for students with the ability to
devote significant time by taking both late
afternoon and evening classes.
PG. 4 UMD LABO VITZ SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Persabelle Debela, an international student from Ethiopia, wants
to be a world influencer. She graduated in three years from UMD
with a B.B.A. in entrepreneurship and will attain an MBA this
summer via LSBE’s new Accelerated MBA program.
“I got into entrepreneurship to be my own boss,” said Debela. “I
am also filled with so many ideas and grew up with the mentality
that I will one day change the world. Everything seemingly fit
and made sense when I began my entrepreneurship classes. I
was challenged and expanded my vision to change the world.”
Debela has a vast vision to “start a company, change the
minimum wage by getting into politics, educate the farmers to
require a higher premium for their coffee, explain the commonly
unknown disadvantages of fair trade…and the list goes on.
“I want to expand the idea that coffee is more than a commodity
and that so many people around the world are affected by that.”
Debela is working with UMD alumnus Eric Faust, entrepreneur
and owner of the Duluth Coffee Company, where she continues
to learn first-hand about entrepreneurship and fair trade coffee.
WARM FEET + BIG
HEARTS
LSBE senior accounting
major Austin Nelson and
UMD alumnus Patrick
Wolf (’18, industrial
engineering major)
sat together with Eric
Smedsrud and Jon
Eastlund on the first day
of their entrepreneurship
class in fall 2017. What
began as a class project
became the business of
Soks Co. that is still run
by Nelson and Wolf. Austin Nelson and Patrick Wolf
“For our class project we focused on homelessness in Duluth and
partnered with the Damiano Center,” said Nelson. “The idea of
socks came from learning that socks are one of the least donated
items; with harsh winters, socks are vital for those in need.”
The company gives a matching donation of merino wool socks
to the Damiano Center for every pair of socks sold. As of January
2019, Soks Co. has sold/donated over 350 pairs. The company
has also grown significantly in just over 15 months, expanding the
product lines from 12 options to nearly 30 and adding apparel.
Soks Co. is also partnered with the Minnesota Coalition for the
Homeless and donates 25% of net profits from apparel sales to the
organization. Visit the company’s website at www.soks.shop.