As the Entrepreneurship Center continues to grow and foster entrepreneurial activities at UNCW and within our entrepreneurial community, it is often helpful to hear stories about the tangible benefits and opportunities the Center is creating.

For this we chose a story from our Enov8t summer entrepreneurship camp for high school students. In its second year Enov8t has not only become popular locally, but also beyond Wilmington with high school students from Raleigh and Connecticut (CT) attending the week-long camp. It is the student Scott Dunstan and his family from CT that form this story.

To begin with, the Dunstan's had never been to Wilmington and found Enov8t through a Google search. Upon registering for the camp they rented a beach house at Wrightsville for the week of camp and brought the entire family down to experience what makes Wilmington great. On the final day of camp after their son Scott delivered an excellent rocket pitch, Mr. and Mrs. Dunstan took me aside and shared some amazing comments.

Like many of us, they had fallen in love with Wilmington and the area during the week. There son Scott, a rising senior, had decided UNCW was where he wanted to go to college and has since applied. The Dunstan's also indicated their interest in relocating to Wilmington and bringing their accounting business with them. As things happen, Ryan Crecelius, founder of Do Good Real Estate and a UNCW alumnus, was sitting at the table with them during the presentations as he had just spoken to the students earlier that week and wanted to see the final presentations. Ryan is now representing the family in their search for a house in Wilmington.

It is this single story where an entrepreneurship camp has directly impacted our tourism industry and has the potential to benefit the local real estate market and an entrepreneur, Ryan, who supports non-profits through real estate. It also created the potential for another excellent student to attend UNCW and the possibility for a business to move here as well and create jobs and help our commercial real estate market. This single story exemplifies the importance of the Entrepreneurship Center and everyone's support and involvement in it. It is having a big impact in so many ways.