I was one of several students who developed an idea in our strategic management class for a wireless Internet business. We turned it into a real business, X-Wires Communications, and opened our downtown office in August 2002.

Our business plan won first place and $5,000 in a competition. We’re working to become a major player in the Internet industry.

The partners in our business are students. I started out as chief financial officer, dealing with larger accounts and taking care of all finances. Now I’m president of the company, and I do a little bit of everything.

I’ve learned more than you can imagine. You can go to school and learn about what other people have done, but you learn so much more by getting out there and actually doing it the way our professors encouraged us to do.

I feel really proud that I’ve had this opportunity. The classes I took helped spark ideas and created an atmosphere where new ideas were encouraged.