“A lot of people, I’ve noticed, want to start their life when college is over. I want to use what is here now to start my life now.”
Jeffrey Anzo is using a new OHIO resource—started by students, for students and brought to fruition through the generosity of three OHIO graduates—to start his life now.
CoLab opened in Alden Library in September 2018, fulfilling the entrepreneurial vision of OHIO students Alex Kneier (BBA ’16) and Lori Bentz (BBA ’17) who sought to create “a connected and innovation-focused community that creates with the goal of changing the world around us.”
Their concept, known as C-Suite, resonated with David (BSEE ’69, MS ’70) and Tina Pidwell and Winston (BSC ’93) and Tricia (BSHEC ’93) Breeden whose donation transformed C-Suite into CoLab, a space designed to empower, enable and unite students in harnessing the power of their creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Within two months of opening, CoLab was so popular that the University expanded the facility’s hours of operation. During the last five weeks of fall semester, an average of 462 individuals, representing nearly every college on the Athens Campus, were using CoLab on a daily basis.
Anzo, a fourth-year undergraduate pursuing a bachelor of specialized studies degree and a certificate in entrepreneurship, is one of CoLab’s frequent visitors, using the space to transform the Self Discovery Club, a student organization he founded, into a thriving business.
An aspiring life coach and motivational speaker, Anzo’s club helps students develop the tools necessary to navigate life—tools he hopes to compile into packages and curriculum that he can market to colleges and companies.
At CoLab Anzo coaches students, organizes his thoughts, networks with his peers and faculty, and nurtures the entrepreneurial mindset he is cultivating.
“CoLab has given me the opportunity to use my skills in a much more powerful way,” Anzo says. “It allows you to connect your ideas with other people in areas that you might not have ever imagined. That difference in perspective and skillset can be so huge in getting to where you want to be.”