What started as a desire to offer students pursuing an entrepreneur-based career both experience and a skillset that will benefit them long-term is now the EA Café, ran by the president of the Entrepreneurship Foundation, Bianca Candela, alongside vice president Noah Mulligan and secretary Holly Misiakowski.
“The EA is a creative space that allows students to come together to learn about and practice entrepreneurship while positively impacting our community,” Candela said. “It is a great place to meet like-minded, driven students and entrepreneurs while exploring your own passions.”
During the Fall 2022 semester, the trio went from being a club full of ideas on how they could grow and expand, to then being a fully developed business on campus.
“We collectively decided on a coffee cart due to the limited availability of coffee on campus, and so came the EA Café!” Misiakowski said.
The cart has a variety of coffees and teas for students to choose from, and this year hot chocolate was added to the assortment. They are also mobile, moving to several different spots on campus.
Being a part of the club entails taking shifts working the cart, overseeing stock and managing advertising, while also receiving student learning hours.
An additional prospect of joining is the inclusion of all majors, as it offers the opportunity of gaining insight into running a business which can be applied to almost every career path.
“For example, Dentistry and Psychology students may want to open their own office one day- that’s considered entrepreneurship,” Misiakowski said.
Candela also shared that the club not only holds meetings where students can become stronger in their journey to entrepreneurship, they also get the chance to collaborate with other local entrepreneurs through annual networking events and visit local businesses to learn about their history and operations.
Every Tuesday, during dead hour, meetings are open to anyone in the student body that wishes to add the EA Café hours to their portfolio or future resumé.
“I truly believe this club will be a lasting resource for creative, dedicated students and provide them with meaningful experiences and networks,” Candela said.
To uphold this, the student president has prioritized her role and responsibility to Detroit Mercy EA members, bringing in local entrepreneurs to speak at meetings, planning recruitment events, and essentially acting as a CEO.
“I am also the founder of EA and am so proud of how much we have grown and accomplished during just one year of operating,” she said. “We have truly made an impact on the lives of our students.”
Interested students are encouraged to follow the EA Instagram page, @udm_entrpreneurship_club, for more information on meetings and events.
“As a newer club on campus, the Entrepreneurship Association is constantly growing and evolving while continuing to find new ways to serve students and our community,” Candela said.
The EA Café and Association are constantly looking for students with the potential to be true leaders and successful entrepreneurs in any field or industry after leaving the university.
