Combining passions John Carroll magazine http://sites.jcu.

edu/magazine/2011/03/16/combining-passions/

Young entrepreneur finds success while serving others

By Raven DeVoll

O nly a junior at John Carroll, Jeanniece Jackson is well on her way to becoming a thriving busi-
nesswoman with a heart of gold. Taking advantage of the many opportunities the Muldoon
Center for Entrepreneurship offers, she’s been able to connect her business-driven way of thinking
to her social-justice-related way of feeling.

Through the Muldoon Center, Jackson had the opportunity to compete in Immersion Week in August
2010, a weeklong idea competition that encourages college students to create new business ven-
tures.

“Students have good ideas, but what do they do with them?” says Mark Hauserman, director of the
Muldoon Center. “Immersion Week is a way for JCU students who are creative to receive a lot of
help with their ideas.”

Immersion Week workshops are taught by experts within the

entrepreneurship field, allowing budding entrepreneurs to learn
from the best of the best. The competition provides practical ex-
periential and theoretical education to local students in hopes
they’ll remain in Northeast Ohio creating and building wealth
within the region.

The competition is sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Educa-

tion Consortium, which consists of entrepreneurship programs
from Northeast Ohio colleges and universities, including John
Carroll.

Jackson and her group members created Menu 2.0, an elec-

tronic menu system using an iPad to process food orders. This
new way of ordering dramatically changes the restaurant experi-
ence, increases order efficiency, and provides faster service,
Jackson says.

Menu 2.0 also creates an interactive experience for customers

and families, offering games and trivia while they wait for their
food. Jackson’s group received second place for its project, re- Jackson
ceiving $2,000 to be divided among the team.

“I love people like Jeanniece,” Hauserman says. “Just give them guidance and let them run with it.
She’s going to be one of our stars.”

Jackson’s success didn’t end there. Julie Messing, director of the Kent State University’s entrepre-
neurship program, was impressed by the JCU team’s project. She contacted Gary Stiffler, chief ex-
ecutive officer of the Matlet Group, one of the largest menu distributors in the country, to inform him
of their innovative menu idea. Stiffler then flew from Rhode Island to discuss future plans with the
winning team members.
“I was hoping the competition would offer great networking opportunities, but to have people come
talk to us was mind-blowing,” Jackson says.

The Matlet Group is exploring what resources are needed to execute the students’ business idea.
Stiffler plans to revisit campus after the company works out the details and his design team makes
certain decisions.

Because four seniors and one junior helped create Menu 2.0, Hauserman would love for the stu-
dents involved to be hired into the Matlet Group upon graduation.

“You’d be a very impressive person in the company – to see your idea come to fruition,” he says.
“These students could live and die trying to get this thing going, but Matlet has the resources and
could make it happen.

Ideally, Jackson and her team members would like to help Matlet launch Menu 2.0 and receive a
percentage of the profits.

“It’s an awesome experience to see something you worked on come to fruition,” she says.

Creating a communal atmosphere

Among her other creative ventures, Jackson is the founder and president of F.A.C.E.S. – Faith,
Action, Culture, Entertainment, Service, a new campus organization focused on creating a cultur-
ally inclusive college community that gives back to the city. F.A.C.E.S. offers members a support
system and communal atmosphere necessary for students to thrive within the college setting.

Jackson’s new club encompasses a diverse range of activities, allowing students to explore their
passions. F.A.C.E.S. connects students with organizations and clubs around campus and within
the Cleveland community that identifies with their interests.

“You can feel like you’re part of a family while finding what else is out there,” Jackson says.

The organization offers a family dynamic by attending JCU sports games, dinner hours, and activi-
ties together a couple times a semester. It also targets commuters by holding its meetings at con-
venient times and focuses on engaging the commuter population by exposing them to campus ac-
tivities for a more complete college experience.

As a commuter, Jackson quickly realized the value of feeling a part of the campus community and
has been able to explore her interests through many University organizations.

Passionate about music, Jackson spends much of her time on campus with JCU’s Gospel Choir.
Since her freshman year, she has served as the vocal director and was elected president her
sophomore year. As president, she’s helped restructure the organization, determine what types of
singing engagements the choir will accept, institute a service component, and increase member-
ship.

A woman for others

Another large portion of Jackson’s time is spent on service-related activities. Her desire to help
others began at an early age, and she has followed her family’s example. Jackson’s mother
founded T.E.E.N.S. – Teens Experiencing Excellence Non-Stop, at the Cleveland Public Library
on East 131 Street in 2003.

Jackson volunteered with her mother weekly, serving as a youth facilitator, leading hot-topic reflec-
tive discussions, acting as a mentor, and helping teens connect with resources for college access
assistance.
Jackson continues to be involved in service and social justice related activities on a collegiate
level. As an incoming freshman, she was selected into the Arrupe Scholar’s program, which chal-
lenges students to develop leadership skills for social action.

Jackson has helped organize service projects on campus and engaged in weekly service activi-
ties, including tutoring elementary school children and teaching the Constitution and American
government to fifth graders through the We the People program.

Each year, Arrupe seniors focus on a social justice issue they’re passionate about as the topic for
their senior capstone project. The projects are based on a year of research they conduct through-
out their junior year. This year, Jackson has been looking into the East Cleveland School District
and is concerned with education reform through social programming.

Still brainstorming ideas, her potential project would involve research and advocacy for a database
solution for allocating school funds to aide selection of appropriate programming for the district.
She also would like to find a way to encourage the local community and students’ parents to be-
come involved in the reform.

“Family and community dynamics play a large role on a child’s success within school,” she says.

With one year at JCU left, Jackson has enrolled in the fifth-year M.B.A. program. After receiving
her master’s degree, she’d like to attend law school. Focusing on civil and corporate law, she’d be
able to pursue her passion for social justice and learn how to run her own businesses successfully.

Ultimately, Jackson would like to work as a business consultant working with companies about le-
gal and human resource-related issues, while owning her own business, which would be a philan-
thropic entity that offers specialized services to its community members. Her community center
would offer programs such as financial management services, etiquette courses, and free legal
consultation clinics.

Wherever she ends up, Jackson is sure to spur positive change within her community. The experi-
ence she has been able to gain while at Carroll has given her the fuel she needs to go forth and
set the world on fire. JCU