Paving Her Own Way

With the help of scholarships, Elizabeth Welu is getting the opportunity to explore the ins and outs of entrepreneurship before she graduates.

Hearing the success stories of notable business magnates at two of the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization Conferences inspired Elizabeth Welu to carve her own career path. After attending the presentations in Kansas City, Missouri, and Tampa, Florida, with Iowa State’s Entrepreneur Club, Welu, a junior in finance, learned that everyone’s story is unique and that there isn’t one clear route to success.

“I now understand that being an entrepreneur is extremely difficult, and it takes passion and drive to accomplish your goals,” said Welu. “A lot of times you only hear about people’s prosperity and not the countless road blocks and struggles they’ve had to overcome.”

At the conferences, Welu heard from keynote speakers like the founders of Chuck E. Cheese, SpiritHoods and Priceline, all of whom motivated her to become an entrepreneur. “I would like to start a business related to health, fitness and helping people,” said Welu. “I want to make a difference and do something worthwhile. I even think it would be fun to start an animal sanctuary to save animals.”

Receiving scholarship support like the Jim Victor Scholarship has helped ease the burden of affording tuition for Welu.

“Scholarships have reduced a lot of stress for me and helped me financially,” she said. “The support has allowed me to focus on school and worry less about having enough money to cover all my expenses. I understand that the assistance comes from people who really care and want to help someone in need — hopefully one day I’ll be able to do the same.”