In 2022, Champlain College and Hula embarked on a formal partnership to support Burlington’s entrepreneurial community and be an economic engine in Vermont. Three years on, the impact is seen and felt amongst students, businesses, and one very lucky project manager (that’s me).
The first element of the partnership included Champlain College President, Alex Hernandez hosting an Entrepreneurship Master Class class at Hula. Every spring semester, during the darkest, coldest months of the year, 15 students arrive between the palm trees and geothermal heating at Hula for class. The class is a unique blend of a Y-Combinator-esque bootcamp and “How I Built This” style teachings from local founders, allowing students to connect with and learn from the local business community.
Due to the collaborative nature, many students met their future employers in the Entrepreneurship Master Class. Now in its 3rd year, students have gone on to work at Commando, Hula Events, Benchmark, Dudley Fund, and AO Glass, just to name a few.
The second partnership element embedded a fantastic Champlain employee (that’s me again) to manage relationships between the college and Hula members. I wanted to create partnerships with Hula members that were interesting, accessible, and mutually beneficial. There are 4 main ways to engage with Champlain, but my role works closely with internship recruiting and building out class projects.
There are 4 main Champlain College offerings for Hula Members:
1. Internship/Job Recruiting
Hula members looking to hire from Champlain, receive free support with writing job descriptions, posting to Handshake, managing applications, and most importantly, recruiting. By providing concierge recruiting support and utilizing my Champlain communication channels, I help Hula members get 2-3 times more applicants on their job posts. Since 2023, the partnership helped 14 Hula companies hire 19 Champlain students. Champlain College is a net-importer of talent, and Hula is a wonderful place for students to begin their careers and envision a future after graduation. We’ve built out unique ways for Hula members to meet their prospective future employees, inviting them to Capstone presentations, hosting Employer Spotlight events, and organizing drop-in-networking sessions on campus.
2. Class Projects & Experiential Learning
Following the Entrepreneurship Master Class’s lead, we design courses with the intention to bring more community into the classroom. Instead of students working with a textbook simulation or a case study, they work with Hula members to solve real world problems, at no cost to the Hula members. In fall 2024, students completed a comprehensive marketing analysis for Sandbox, a company committed to reducing textile waste. “Engaging with such talented individuals not only invigorated our team but also reinforced our commitment to our sustainability mission”, said Amelia Leme, founder of Sandbox.
Class projects run in the fall and spring semesters, typically for 10-15 weeks, under the guidance of a faculty member. Past projects allowed companies like Engage CFO, Myti, Offshore Greens, Sandbox, and Working Fields to test out new ideas and design new marketing plans with the help of Champlain students.
Other ways to get involved with classes include guest speaking, attending Capstone presentations, and sitting in on the Entrepreneurship Masterclass.
3. Low Cost Cyber and IT Support
The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity at Champlain College offers grant subsidized services to organizations with a presence at Hula.
Services include:
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Managed IT Services
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Managed Security Services
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Cybersecurity Risk Assessments
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Digital Forensics Investigations
For questions or more information about free and grant-subsidized services, please contact Zoltan Sachs at zsachs@champlain.edu.
4. tru Ed Preferred Pricing
Champlain College Online’s truED Partnership offers preferred pricing for industry-driven academic programs to Hula employees, eligible tenants, their spouses, domestic partners, and adult dependents. For more information about Hula’s truED Partnership, check out this website.
If you are interested in learning more about hiring a Champlain student or building out a one-of-a kind project, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to help with recruiting anytime, with no commitment to hire needed. Projects typically run from August-December and January-May, so I start looking for clients in June and November.
The best way to reach me is by email at akoukoulas@champlain.edu or via. Hula Slack.
