The Anderson School of Management’s seminar at UCLA to serve disabled veterans’ entrepreneurial needs kicked off on Saturday.
The program, “Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities,” provides small business management training for military personnel disabled post-Sept. 11.
“I found the program through the Disabled Americans Web site. It’s a great opportunity for veterans to gain knowledge (about business) to help them succeed,” said Air Force Staff Sergeant Isaiah Martzen, a participant in the course.
Martzen has been in the U.S. Air Force for 13 years. After serving in Kuwait, where he developed a myriad of respiratory and intestinal ailments, he expects to leave the Air Force to further his Web-based small business.
The many veterans interested in the entrepreneurial program must provide a business model that they wish to explore during the program. The stringent admission process includes letters of recommendation and essays.
The veterans are introduced to the curriculum before they arrive at UCLA through the completion of a three-week online training program.
Disabled veterans from the United States Armed Forces came to UCLA from as far as Seoul, South Korea to attend a nine-day seminar designed to train veterans in small business management while providing a much-needed social service.
The 16 veterans enrolled in the course have diverse backgrounds in education. Most have attended community college; some veterans have more advanced degrees.
Alex Galicia, a UCLA alumnus who graduated in 1992 and a student in the program, completed three tours of duty and sustained a shoulder injury in Iraq. He is currently pursuing his master degree online in transportation and logistics through the American Military University.
The intensive nine-day course consists of interactive workshops, guest speakers and lectures by Anderson professors like Senior Associate Dean Dr. Al Osborne.
Outside of the classroom, Anderson professors and teaching assistants volunteer their time to better develop and focus their students’ vision for entrepreneurial success.
After the veterans leave the UCLA campus, the program continues for a year via online forums to facilitate networking between the UCLA Anderson alumni and businessmen in the marketplace.
The entrepreneurial program receives funding from a variety of private donors.
“With the state of the budget in California, there is no public funding for this kind of program. The Price Center is a division in Anderson that is privately funded, and we’re not afraid to ask for money,” said Elaine Hagan, the executive director of the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Anderson.
Though the Price Center has offered courses similar in curriculum to the disabled veterans entrepreneurial program since 1987, this is the first time a free program tailored for veterans has been offered.
More educational opportunities are expected to emerge in coming years. Hagan expects that this is just the beginning of the surge of veterans onto university campuses across the nation.
“The newly signed G.I. Bill affords veterans the opportunity to go back to school. UCLA is incredibly attractive to veterans, not only for its academic prowess but also for its proximity to the Veterans Administration hospital,” Hagan said.
The new G.I bill, signed into law by President Bush in June, more than doubles the educational benefits for veterans.
“The veterans have done a lot for us. We have an obligation to help them into civilian life. Sometimes traditional employment is not an option. We will offer EBV annually until it’s no longer needed,” Hagan said.
Galicia reflected Hagan’s sentiment.
“It’s a shame. Here’s this country that’s been involved in so many different conflicts; (veterans) do the nation’s dirty work, but they end up under bridges. … I wished this kind of program had existed years ago.”