Chaminade program honors 1st graduates
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
When Vu Duong's name was read as the outstanding member of the first graduating class of Hogan Entrepreneurs at Chaminade University of Honolulu yesterday, no one was more surprised than the 23-year-old Vietnamese immigrant.
Where: Chaminade University Purpose: Combines academic coursework with practical experiences to develop entrepreneurial skills during a two-year study course First Class: 17 graduates and undergraduate students Contact: Director John Webster, 739-4667; e-mail jwebster@chaminade.edu
"One thing I learned from this program — only in this country if I work hard enough I can be what I want to be," Duong said later.
Hogan Entrepreneurial Program
The son of a carpenter who came to the United States to flee Vietnam's Communist regime, Duong is the first in his family to get a college education.
With much applause, he took his place yesterday with a unique group of 17 men and women — Hawai'i's Hogan Entrepreneurs. The first class came together with a profusion of lei, tears and hope for the future. One of them, Ellen Watson, has already launched her own business in mold management.
"I was 8 when I left Vietnam," Duong said. "Two brothers, one sister, parents. We came with nothing. No assets. No properties. Only bare hands. In America we have opportunity."
That kind of opportunity is what the Hogan Entrepreneur program has brought to Chaminade — the inspiration for young people to realize their dreams using the tools and skills of entrepreneurs. To do that the two-year course of study offers sessions with some of Hawai'i's most successful business leaders who talk about their successes and failures, the inevitable pitfalls ahead and how one must get up again after failure.
The program is named for Ed Hogan, who founded Pleasant Holidays.
"Just listening to business owners, I've learned so much about taking risks," said Matthew Harrell, a retired military bassoonist who dreams of opening a mom-and-pop restaurant on his wife's home island of Chuuk, serving collard greens and black-eyed peas along with Micronesian breadfruit and taro dishes.
"It's not so much about the success stories," Harrell said, "but as an entrepreneur, there's a large amount of failure. I learned no matter how many times you fail, you have to have a passion, a drive, a stick-to-it ability."
"We aim to take Chaminade juniors, seniors or grad students and expose them to the life and culture of an entrepreneur," said John Webster, program director and professor of entrepreneurial studies.
"We bring in the best people in town to take them through three-hour workshops on leadership, decision-making, cross-cultural communication, business protocol, interpersonal communication. We really bring the kind of people in that corporations use in middle management training programs."
Webster said an entrepreneur is different from a businessman.
"It's someone driven to start new things," he said, "and our aim is to help students start new things. We're trying to give them the skills and tools and motivation to leave here with a jump start. It could be in a nonprofit, a for-profit business, or it could even be in government. Entrepreneurs don't necessarily come out of the business schools. We have a couple who are English majors, biology majors, political science majors."
Launched with $150,000 from the Hogan Family Foundation, the Chaminade program is the second of its kind in the nation; the first was created at Gonzaga University in Washington State.
In a surprise announcement just before yesterday's ceremony, Hogan told Chaminade officials that he and his wife, Lynn, would add $100,000 to their annual contribution, for a total of $250,000.
The program is offered free to Chaminade students who meet high academic standards.
The new class for fall 2003 has already been recruited, which will put about 30 Hogan Entrepreneurs on campus next year, with some beginning the program as juniors and some as seniors.
Harrell will continue as a senior next year, building on what he has already learned.
"All of the entrepreneurs stressed 'don't be afraid to hire someone smarter than you,'' Harrell said. "You're good at some things, but there will be things that you suck at, so outsource. Get people who are going to make you look good, and pay them well. That's important. If you want the best, you've got to pay for it."
Correction: Matthew Harrell will not be serving chitlins in the restaurant he hopes to open in Chuuk. A previous version of this story inaccurately included that as a menu item.
