LLCEO alumni share experiences they’ve had since graduating from the program

 

[January 17, 2023] 

On Thursday, January 12th, a full house of invited guests were treated to an hour with the Land of Lincoln Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) program board members, 2022-23 students and two special alumni guest speakers at the Elks Ballroom in Lincoln.

The day, tagged “A morning with Young Entrepreneurs” included a breakfast buffet catered by Peggy’s Place in Lincoln, comments from Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship Executive Director Austin Brooks, and LLCEO graduates Filipe Buenrostro (2018-19) and Faith Sanders (2021-22).

Mentor Michelle Bauer (left) with LLCEO Chair Bridget Schneider.

The morning began with a welcome from LLCEO Board Chairperson Bridget Schneider and an invitation to take advantage of the breakfast buffet while hearing from the guest speakers. Schneider then said the guests would view a short video about the CEO program.

The first to speak was Brooks who hales from Effingham. He commented first on the quality of the Air B and B he had utilized in Lincoln on Wednesday night. He said it was hard for local people to talk up the accommodations offered in a community because they rarely used them, so he was providing a testimonial and compliments to the owners of the Lincoln Loft in the heart of the city. He said that he had a really good experience and enjoyed the comfort of the Air B and B immensely.

He moved on to talk about the program he represents and spoke about how that the idea of creating an experience-based leadership for young students interested in entrepreneurship had exploded into something far greater than had been imagined. He spoke about the way the program is managed with a teacher-student format but rather with a facilitator who sees the students as young adults and treats them accordingly. He said the program offers students the opportunity to learn not just about business but about being a leader, creating relationships, teamwork and gives them greater confidence in their own ability to succeed.
 

Brooks shared information gathered from the Effingham area, where the CEO program has been offered for the past 15 years. He said that of the first three graduating classes, 44 percent of the students still reside in the Effingham community. He said that there was a comparison on the pre and post impact of the program where that pre-CEO students indicated that they had no desire to stay in their home communities. Post-CEO the opinion had changed dramatically, and many said that they would not prefer to stay in their home community. After getting to know the host businesses and mentors, 60 percent of those students said they would refer friends and family to those businesses and 65 percent said they would be a customer of that same business in the future.

Of that same group of students, 47.55 percent said they had attended sessions and heard from businesses that they would like to same day work in.

Brooks shared his personal experiences with the alumni guest speakers Filipe Buenrostro and Faith Sanders. He said he recalled attending a conference and walking into a room with four men. He noted that three of the men were mega-successes in their individual fields, and the fourth man was Filipe, holding his own and standing out in a group of highly successful entrepreneurs.

Brooks said Faith had participated in student improvement interviews and had stood out to him as super bold with great communication skills.

When Brooks finished, he had the honor of calling the first LLCEO alumni guest speaker to the podium. Filipe Buenrostro, a graduate of the 2018-19 LLCEO class came forward to share his experiences during and after CEO.

Buenrostro began by talking about other leadership classes he’d heard of or witnessed and said those classes offered opportunities for leadership “with guard rails.” He said he felt the program was “dressing me up to be a leader but not letting me lead.” In the LLCEO that was not the case. Buenrostro said the CEO program had taught him skills that he had taken with him and utilized for his own success over the last few years. He spoke about spending time in Washington D. C. and meeting a man from Haiti which led to an invitation to visit that area. He said he developed a relationship there that may be of value to him in the future.

Buenrostro also shared that he had attended university in Springfield, and though a friendship with the president ended up at 19 years of age being employed and entrusted to oversee a budget.

He said he had applied for an apprenticeship at a good lawn firm. He had interviewed well and was very excited about his prospects, but he didn’t hear back. After quite a little while he decided to follow up only to discover that some how the notification that he had won the position never reached him. He said it saddened him to have missed that opportunity, but it also motivated him to move on and try again and again. He said he made copies of his resume and went in person to law firms and after several stops, it did pay off for him.

He did eventually get a good apprenticeship and went on from there.

He said the CEO program helped boost his courage and confidence and taught him the value of networking. He noted that learning to be bold and outgoing had landed him an opportunity to meet someone from Haiti who eventually invited him to visit. Buenrostro took advantage of that offer and spent time in the tropical climate. He said he built a relationship that he knows will be there if and when he needs it.

LLCEO Alumni Filipe Buenrostro and Faith Sanders.

During Covid, he went to Mexico to learn more about the culture and language and to invest in building his import business that he featured as his small business at the 2019 LLCEO Tradeshow.

Currently Buenrostro is working in Springfield at Bunn Capital as an international account administrator.
 

Buenrostro’s quotable quote for the day came from the Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship founder, the late Craig Lindvahl “Life ain’t no laser beam.” Buenrostro spoke about his year in the LLCEO and the group event the class had planned for a fundraiser for the program. The two-part event began with an evening event that was quite successful and the class had left that first night quite pleased with the result. However, their spirits fell dramatically when the athletic event that was part two of the fundraiser the next day failed. The turnout was very low and there was no profit to be made. Buenrostro said the team leaders were in a bad mood, disheartened by the end result of the effort they had put into the event. It was then that Mr. Mahler, the facilitator for that year had a pep talk with the students, reminding them they had made a promise to those who were in attendance. And even though they were few, they were entitled to received what they had been promised. Buenrostro said it was a lesson well learned. We will put in a lot of effort and reap a great reward sometimes, and other times, we will fail. But we have to keep trying, and we have to follow through with our promises and doing what is right, even when it seems to be going all wrong.

He said the lesson learned was that “life ain’t no laser beam.” One cannot predict the way things will turn out, and one cannot predict all the directions life will take them.

He said if he needed to answer the question what CEO meant to him he would have to say it was a place to become stronger, more courageous and all around a better person.

When Faith Sanders came to the podium she said that she could not even begin to offer a good follow after Buenrostro offered such a great lead. Sanders is a senior this year at Hartsburg Emden High School. She said that she couldn’t foresee the future and what directions she would go or how she would relate it to the CEO program. But at the same time, she knew that the program had made her better and a good example of that had been the words spoken about her earlier by Austin Brooks.

She said she was somewhat surprised to hear that she had presented as bold and confident. If she gained anything from CEO it was that ability to step out of the shell she often lives within. Being quite and shy by nature, she learned to be assertive and to speak out and be a part of the group.
 

She said that the CEO program had helped her and her fellow classmates to realize that they do have a voice, and they should exercise that voice to speak out for what they think is right. She learned to take the lead instead of waiting for someone else to do it so she could follow along. Even though she still considers herself to be an introvert, she knows now that she has the ability and the skills to speak out, be assertive, and take the lead.

She’s looking forward to the future and knows that the personal growth and development that came for her in CEO will continue to serve her in the years to come.

As the morning came close to an end, Rachel Judd, the LLCEO Investor Committee Chairman stood at the podium. She talked about the network that keeps the CEO program alive. Even though Facilitator Lisa Kuhlman does a great job, she doesn’t do any of it alone. Judd asked for representative of businesses that had been classroom sites in the past to stand and remain standing. She then asked for those who had volunteered to be student mentors to stand, then the ones who had offered class addresses to stand, and the ones who served on the board, were current students, past students, and financial supporters.

At the end of her requests, she noted every person in the room was standing. She said it was because the LLCEO was not a teacher-student program, it was a community program that needed and continues to need the support of those present and more to remain successful. She thanked all those who have contributed to the community effort for doing so and encouraged all to continue to support the CEO program locally through their personal interactions as well as their financial support. She noted that all of it combined is what makes the program go and she is hopeful that the program will continue to go for years to come in Logan County.

As she closed she invited guests to linger as long as they wished, visiting with the current CEO students, the board members, those who are mentors and others present.

The next CEO event will be the LLCEO Tradeshow. At the tradeshow, the current students will set up their own small business and present it to guests in an evening event held at the Lincoln American legion.

The LLCEO Class of 2023 is Isabella Bree-Elmore, Benjamin Crombie, Ashlyn Duvall, Riley Fretag, Lilianna Houzenga, Maggie McNalis, Kyleigh Ott and Emma Petro. To learn more about the LLCEO, visit the website at Land of Lincoln CEO - Entrepreneurial Education

[Nila Smith]