Syracuse University expands veterans' bootcamp

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Aug 8, 2008 by Tampone, Kevin

SYRACUSE - Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management expanded its entrepreneurship program for disabled veterans to three other colleges this year.

The program, the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, began last year. Program participants work on homework, reading assignments, and online learning activities before arriving on campus for a residency that lasts about a week.

The bootcamp at SU last year included 20 students. About two months after the program wrapped up, the Whitman School hosted a national conference for entrepreneurship center directors and interest in the program was strong among attendees, says Mike Haynie, a professor at Whitman and one of the bootcamp's organizers.

"We had no idea what this was going to turn into," Haynie says. "We knew we had an opportunity to do something for this particular population."

Organizers thought carefully before deciding to expand the program. They wanted to make sure the quality of the experience was consistent, Haynie says.

Eventually, they decided to work with the University of California Los Angeles, Florida State University, and Texas A&M University. The schools are hosting bootcamps this year, along with SU.

SU handles applications and recruiting for the program and the curriculum. The partner schools fund their local programs and line up the various speakers and professors for the course.

This year, a total of 73 students will participate in the bootcamp, including 16 at SU, 20 at Texas A&M, 17 at Florida State, and 20 at UCLA. Florida State held its residence in June, while SU's began in July.

UCLA started its on-campus program Aug. 2 and Texas A&M's residency will start Aug. 16.

"This is giving me exactly what I need," says Brian Iglesias, a New Jersey resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who's participated in the bootcamp at SU this year. "I'm so excited right now I'm sleeping only about three hours a night. I couldn't be happier."

Iglesias earned a film degree from Temple University while serving on active duty in the Marines. He's leaving the service this year after 13 years and plans to start a film-production company.

"Every film by itself is an entrepreneurial venture," he says.

Erogies Grigley spent 28 years in the Army and retired in 2006 for medical reasons. He says he began to lose hope when he had difficulty finding work after he left the military.

"Your body is literally falling apart and you can't get a job. You begin to feel worthless," he says. "This program restored my hope. Being here has shown me there are people that really care and want us to be successful. They believe in us."

It was important, Haynie says, to find top-notch business schools to work with for the expansion to maintain the quality of the presenters and professors. Good teaching is important, but so are the networking opportunities for bootcamp participants.

"These people can open doors for these students," Haynie says. "It's about making connections. That's part of what we're doing here."

Haynie says organizers may consider expanding the program to even more schools, but they want to wait until all four programs end this year and review how things went first. During this year's residency at SU, a representative from the Canadian Defense Department went through the program.

The department is interested in starting a similar program in Canada, Haynie says.

There's no doubt the need for a program like the bootcamp is strong, he adds. Thousands of veterans are returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - many of them with disabilities that will last their entire lives.

"This allows them to take ownership of their future," Haynie says. "They don't want to be dependent on anyone else anymore."