Alumni Share Strategies for Bridging Entrepreneurial Education and Careers at National Summit

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — High school educators from across the country gathered for a national
conference in Chicago earlier this month where a panel that included Illinois Wesleyan
alumni shared insights on ways students can be guided through an entrepreneurial education
and towards a successful career path.

The Uncharted Learning National Summit allowed educators and administrators to connect and explore fresh tools and strategies
to support students’ entrepreneurial journeys during a three-day conference. The event
included a student business showcase and INCubatoredu student competition to pitch
startup ideas for the chance to receive funding.

Director of IWU’s Petrick Idea Center John Quarton partnered with Uncharted Learning
organizers to invite successful Titan alumni to speak on a panel titled Entrepreneurship
at Work: Bridging Entrepreneurship Education with Industry. The speakers were IWU
Board of Trustees Member Mark Denzler ’93, the president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association; Zack Tencza ’21, regional account executive for Bretford manufacturing; and Will Jenkins ’12, CEO and founder of Journey. Chief of Staff at mHUB, Allison Winstel, also joined
the panel. 

“I was delighted to moderate the entrepreneurship panel,” said Denzler. “Working with
John Quarton, I enjoyed assembling a diverse panel and it provided an opportunity
to briefly highlight the new Petrick Idea Center that will encourage collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship. This panel at
a national education summit demonstrated how industry and education intersect and
showcased specific individuals (Will Jenkins), companies (Bretford) and incubators
(mHUB). It was really special that it was largely composed of IWU alums.”

Jenkins said he is always eager to join an opportunity to support Illinois Wesleyan
and highlight entrepreneurial efforts on campus. 

His message for educators attending the panel was to remind their students “it’s alright
to fail and you have to try a lot of different things before you figure out what works.
The lessons are in the failures.”

“I think students need to know how supportive the IWU alumni community is and that
IWU will help enable them to become successful entrepreneurs,” added Jenkins.

The group of experts also spoke about corporate innovation, manufacturing, early-stage
startup experience and education-to-industry pathways. Quarton said the panelists
drove home the message that entrepreneurial education shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. 

“Real-world impact comes when we connect the classroom to the workplace, when students
have mentors, tackle authentic problems and see how their ideas translate into value,”
he said. “Their stories highlighted the growing demand for entrepreneurial thinkers
across all industries, not just startups.”

Using personal experience, the panelists explained how seeds of creativity, collaboration
and resilience that are planted in high school and college can grow into real careers
and companies. 

IWU President Sheahon Zenger and Vice President for Advancement Jesse Meyer traveled
to hear remarks and connect with panelists and educators. 

“To have a panel of mostly IWU alums — it speaks to the impact of our alumni in any
given field, and particularly in this field we are leaning into heavily now. This
ended up being an incredible pipeline event for future entrepreneurs,” said Zenger.

Kate Morris ‘04, Director of High School Curriculum and Instruction at Plainfield
School District 202, also spoke on a panel as an educator titled Building Community
Bridges: Transforming Entrepreneurship Education through Local Partnerships. 

She explained how her district partnered with Uncharted Learning to offer the INCubatoredu program to high school students in their entrepreneurship program, and then expanded the experience by involving over 85 volunteers from the community to serve as mentors and coaches.  

“As our program continues to grow, we also work to grow our community involvement
with the program in our schools. Our volunteers offer their business/entrepreneurial
expertise and experience to best help our students gain insights and understanding
regarding business concepts. This program has been beneficial not only to our students,
but to our surrounding community as well; we are extremely proud of our partnership
between the school district and our local businesses,” said Morris. 

Quarton said the strong Titan presence at the National Summit sent a message that
IWU is “not only a place where students explore bold ideas, but where they find lasting
purpose and opportunity.” 

“Illinois Wesleyan is uniquely positioned to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurial
leaders through the lens of the liberal arts. Our small size, personalized mentorship
and interdisciplinary culture allow students to move quickly from idea to action,”
said Quarton.

In pursuit of becoming the nation’s leader in entrepreneurial liberal arts education,
Illinois Wesleyan is currently constructing The Petrick Idea Center, which is set to open in the fall of 2026.

“The Petrick Idea Center was the idea of an alum, Dave Petrick ‘67. Then other alumni
came forward. It’s the outgrowth of alumni support, creation and demand. The university
community recognized that and joined with them as we venture into this new world,”
said Zenger. “We will have multiple advisory committees made up of faculty and students
to ensure the space is used thoughtfully and meets the needs of our community. We
know that entrepreneurship is more than just business — it’s also in the arts, social
and philanthropic space.”

The 14,850-square-foot facility will serve as a hub for imagination, creativity, innovation,
and entrepreneurship, featuring prototyping tools, an amphitheater, collaborative
meeting and teaching spaces, a food innovation lab, 3D printers, sewing machines,
power tools, audio/video equipment and more.