The AACSB-accredited College of Business (CoB) at Clayton State University’s Summer Entrepreneurship and Business Academy (SEBA), sponsored by PEI, a Stockbridge-based logistics form, is intended to give high school students a taste of college life.
Dr. Beverly Wright, program director, and Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi, professor of marketing & global strategy, along with CoB Career Advisor Sanford Dennis have recently visited public and private high schools to talk about the current state of business, entrepreneurship, and also discuss their summer academy, which is designed to help prepare students for the future by providing a unique and exciting hands-on learning experience. This year’s program runs from June 16 through June 21 and will once again be held on the Clayton State campus in Morrow.
Last year’s academy students provided testimony for the overnight, week-long program, and had this to say about SEBA:
“This week, I learned a lot more than I thought I would. Not only have I learned business, ethics and codes of ethics that I didn’t know about the real world, I also learned a lot about myself,” says Mt. Zion Magnet School’s Taylor Tinsley. “There were a lot of realizations about myself and about other people and how to work with other people, strangers that you didn’t even know two weeks ago.
“I definitely recommend SEBA for other high schoolers because it teaches you communication, and cooperation. That’s something that a lot of high schoolers need because, you know, high school is tough. It is always going to be tough. It is good to be able know things about people first hand and that’s what SEBA teaches you.”
Akiah Dunlap, a Clayton County resident who attends Grace Christian Academy in Fayette County, also learned a lot at SEBA.
“I’ve learned so much about the college life, the major I want, and more majors I might go into because of this camp,” she says. “It opened a whole spectrum of doors. I told my friends because this is a great opportunity for them coming up as seniors. I’ve learned so much in a short time, and has impacted me in ways that I can’t even express.”
“Our primary purpose for SEBA was to prepare students for life after high school and beyond,” notes Ogbuehi. “We were very pleased that 20 students successfully participated in this inaugural program. The students left the University with a new understanding of themselves and the world around them. They also learned about the various programs and opportunities for study at Clayton State University.”
The conclusion all parties reached about SEBA was that the academy challenged students to think critically and provided them with a taste of college life… a dream made real. SEBA was moderated by Clayton State professors from the accounting, management and marketing fields, and the topics covered included entrepreneurship, business, ethics, free enterprise, teamwork, and personal skills. This year’s program has added an etiquette dinner to give academy students skills needed to function effectively in professional meal situations. For more information, go to
http://www.clayton.edu/business/seba.