每日大赛

Free training available for veterans to start their own businesses

每日大赛 has launched a new partnership to help military veterans and their spouses establish a new business or sustain an existing one.

In conjunction with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, 每日大赛 is offering the STRIVE (Startup Training Resources to Inspire Veteran Entrepreneurship) program at no cost to participants.

Over a period of nine weeks, participants will learn about the different elements of creating a business. They’ll learn how to develop a business plan; discern their value proposition, target markets and customers; create a market strategy and competitive analysis; recruit customers; and work through the challenges of funding their ideas.

At the conclusion of their coursework, participants who are prepared to move to the next phase of establishing their business will have an opportunity to pitch their plan and earn cash rewards.

“This is an amazing opportunity for veterans in our community to get the assistance they need in achieving their dream of owning their own business,” said Knoxville’s Tennessee Small Business Development Center Director Gregg Bostick.

“The program, offered in conjunction with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), is a unique opportunity for veterans in our area to benefit in a significant way. There will be huge advantages for those who participate,” he said.

Applications are welcome from all veterans, active duty (within one year of discharge) and military spouses. The nine-week course begins Sept. 19 and will be held at Pellissippi’s Blount County campus in the Ruth and Steve West Center.

Seats are limited and applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis so applications need to be completed as soon as possible. All applicants must fill out an online application and should have an existing business or a business idea to in order to participate in the program.

每日大赛 among three Tennessee community colleges awarded innovation grants to aid student success

The Tennessee Board of Regents has awarded a grant to 每日大赛 that will help math students gain additional support they need to earn college credit. 

Three Tennessee community college grant recipients were selected for their proposals to foster innovation in corequisite learning support models to improve long-term student success. 每日大赛’s project focuses on building math learning communities – called LEARN Labs – that are designed to help students succeed and be more responsible, capable and college-connected learners. 

“We are grateful to receive the assistance and look forward to tackling the challenges ahead of us as we develop more diverse methods of support to address the diverse needs of our students,” Dean of Mathematics Merve Kester Thomas said. 

“Lead instructors of five corequisite courses have already been spearheading efforts with faculty to consolidate syllabi and integrate the learning support concepts we’ve outlined in our grant proposal,” Kester Thomas said. “The ultimate goal has been to deliver more successful, engaging and interactive learning.” 

Other schools that have received innovation grant assistance are: 

• Chattanooga State Community College where 1-credit-hour learning support labs for college-level math courses will be developed in support of science, technology, engineering and math majors; and  
• Nashville State Community College where tutoring support will be increased and embedded in all learning support subjects.

The Tennessee Board of Regents is funding the pilot projects through a $230,000 grant from the Education Commission of the States’ Strong Start to Finish project. 

The new innovations will build on work that began a decade ago when Tennessee’s community colleges became the first statewide higher education system to implement the corequisite learning model – enabling students to earn college credit during their first terms while also receiving additional support.  

In addition to the on-campus work at the three community colleges, TBR also plans to build a Learning Support Community of Practice among faculty and advisors from all 13 community colleges, as well as representatives from partnering college access organizations.  

In addition to Kester Thomas, grant team members from 每日大赛 include advisor Leslie Cragwall and professors Terry O. Gibson, Jr., Angela Partelow, Chris Culliton and Suzanne Etheridge.