Middlesex Community College: Enhance A Degree With Two Add-On Business Certificates At MCC

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

11/24/2021

Abby Shenker, of Lexington, has a passion for laser cutting. During the pandemic, she started using the skill in her work in a manufacturing facility for a medical supply chain. Wanting a more creative path, she decided to create her own business of laser cut home décor, which she now sells on her Etsy page.

Needing help learning the ins and outs of her business, Shenker chose to attend Middlesex Community College. The college’s Launch Your Business Now (LYBN) certificate program is teaching her the valuable and relevant business skills she needs to reach long-term success.

“I looked for courses and mentorship programs in Massachusetts and online,” Shenker said. “I knew right away when I discovered LYBN that it was the right choice for me. The opportunity to launch my business alongside peers and under expert mentorship was a no-brainer.”

The LYBN program is one of two business-related certificates MCC students can earn or add on to their degree program, according to Stacie Hargis, MCC Professor and Entrepreneurship Coordinator. While the Entrepreneurship certificate works best for MCC Business students on a transfer track, LYBN can be added to any degree or completed by students starting a business.

MCC’s Entrepreneurship certificate provides Middlesex students with the opportunity to build a foundation of business knowledge and skills relevant to the workforce of a business-related industry or job. The LYBN certificate is an intensive semester of developing an already set-in-motion business plan from the beginning stages to launch.

Hargis explains how an MCC Hospitality major who is interested in learning more about the business world can enhance their studies by adding an Entrepreneurship certificate, while a student studying graphic design could add on the LYBN certificate to learn how to start their own graphic design business.

“Certificates are a convenient and fast way for people to build on their previous education by focusing on a specialized track,” Hargis said. “This is especially helpful with MCC’s LYBN certificate which helps students leverage their knowledge base and passions while building the skills necessary to launching a business."

Having earned a bachelor’s degree from Emerson College in Scenic Design and Technical Theatre and attended a program at IYRS School of Technology and Trades in Rhode Island to learn laser cutting, Shenker needed direct experience and education in Business.

MCC’s LYBN certificate is teaching her how to develop her business concept, evaluate market opportunity, test assumptions and set up systems, including accounting, marketing, sales, operations and finances. The program curriculum is directly related to what she needs to know.

“It’s all about building your own business,” she said. “The activities are not abstract or theoretical – they are directly related to my business.”

Because Shenker is building her laser cutting business on her own, the support she has received from MCC’s program from her classmates and professors has been invaluable. She has been able to network and share ideas with other small business owners while learning from professors who are “encouraging and authentic.”

“The certificate is giving me the confidence to launch my business strong and dream big, while still being realistic,” Shenker said. “It’s given my business foundations to grow upon – from broad strokes like defining company values to the minutiae of details of tax deductions.

MCC’s Business program helps students go into – and succeed in – the workforce or transfer to four-year schools with its award-winning and affordable offerings, small class sizes and flexible schedules. Visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/discover/dyp_business.aspx for more information and to discover your path to a Business degree at Middlesex.

Registration for MCC’s WinterSession and Spring 2022 semester – starting on Monday, January 3 and Monday, January 24 – are now open. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 for more information and to register for classes.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in education for more than 50 years. Middlesex puts the student first. Meeting each learner where they are, MCC provides them with a safe, welcoming and engaging place to learn. Offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses – Middlesex features flexible course formats and a variety of award-winning student support services and resources. Student success starts at MCC!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.