Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

I suspected she was different from the first time she came into the Lab sometime before the end of the fall semester last year. Alyssa came to get some saw dust (we have plenty of that) saying her and her roommate were working on a composting project. As we filled a grocery bag, some spilled on the floor and she said, “I want to clean that up.” Imagine, a college student volunteering to clean something up. 

I told her she needed to come back from time to time and make things. She said she didn’t know how to do anything, and I said, “If you start coming here, you’ll learn to make all kinds of stuff.” She did come back and did learn a lot and we also discovered a lot of talent she didn’t know she had. She didn’t qualify to be a work study, so we helped her get her business ID and she became our first student contractor. Our experience culminated in Alyssa taking the Entrepreneurial Mindset class. Here is her personal vision statement; the final assignment. 

Changing and Growing 

“I think that I have learned so much and grown so much this year and it’s hard to tell what all of it is credited to. There were a lot of big changes, moving away from home, losing friends, living 6 hours away from my mother, living with roommates, living by myself, living with my grandparents. I took my first business classes, had my first college theatre, signed my first lease, wrecked my first car, got my coolest job so far, and took an entrepreneurial mindset class. If I’m being honest though, a lot of that growth and mindset change is thanks to the Fab Lab.  

For the first time, I could imagine pursuing my dreams unashamed, and I could see myself as head of my own company. I can see a future I never imagined for myself and so much came from this class, and from the teachers of course. I think that every time I sat down with Tim Haynes (lab manager) to talk about projects I learned some important lessons I’ll keep for life. And every chapter I read in “Who Owns the Ice House?” held such valuable lessons that I took to heart. Every night class was so thrilling, being around people that I see as so different from me, and then learning how similar we are. I think being surrounded by people who want more from life, ambitious and hopeful, is something valuable. Chapter 7, about Community. That’s what it was, in class each week. 

Ready for the Future 

I’m excited. I’m thrilled for the future. I’m ready to take my seat at the table and accomplish what I want. That comes with so much change of course, and so much work, but I’m ready to give it my all. It comes from a place of knowing that I have the tools I need and if I don’t now, I know how to acquire them.  

There’s a lot I need to work on, of course. As someone who did not work on most of the assignments in this course until March, I have a lot of growth potential. Obviously, procrastination is a huge problem and doesn’t do well for branding. In college though, I have definitely gotten better about not procrastinating. I’m excited to keep working towards improving myself. I’ve worked on my study habits; college is the first time I actually had to put an effort into studying and I enjoyed being challenged. I know that it’s a big obstacle to step over, but I’ve got it.  

Building a Network 

Another thing I want to work on lately is having that community of ambitious people who will push me and want to be pushed too. I love my friends, but they want different things than I do. And that’s okay, but I need people who understand where I come from when I say I want to create something bigger. I’ve been spending time thinking about where and how I meet those people, the places I could go to run into them. It felt nice to hear that there is value to having a strong network, and I felt more comfortable knowing that wanting that was actually a good thing to want. Now I just need to take the steps to work towards that.  

Overall, I am eternally grateful that Jim urged me to take the Entrepreneurial Mindset class and that I’m a good listener. I can’t begin to understand how many small changes I’ll make thanks to the entrepreneurs that came in and talked with us. My vision for the future is broader than I ever thought I’d let it be, and my dreams have completely shifted. I want to help people, and I know I can have a lasting impact on them now. Whatever I do with everything I learned; I hope it will be great. Years from now, and down the line, I’ll bring something to life.” 

Alyssa is yet another example of a seemingly ordinary student who now realizes she has the potential to do extraordinary things. There are legions like Alyssa and exposing them to entrepreneurial concepts and mindset will bring out the potential in each one. 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.