Current Early College Career Academy (ECCA) Business and Entrepreneurship students “met” with Robert Manasier, ECCA 2019 graduate, on September 4, 2020 virtually. Rob graduated from the ECCA program, went on to SUNY ADK for another year and is now at Clarkson University on a fellowship The ECCA program prepared him far more than he expected for his time at Clarkson and he exudes a confidence one doesn’t always see in a college student. He told the current class not to give up and that this program is worth more than one can imagine.
Rob said the biggest gain from the program was the understanding and experience creating marketing and business plans as well as the presentation skills he earned. Now that he is taking 300 and 400 level college courses, he is even more prepared than some of his classmates who don’t have the experience he does when it comes to creating business plans and presenting to several people.
While in the ECCA Business and Entrepreneurship program, he competed in SUNY Adirondack’s Business competition where students would work as a group to create a product that would appeal to high school and college age people. They would then build a business plan, try to “sell” the product, and present it to a group who would decide if the idea was feasible or something people would invest in. He’s still working on that project and plans to bring it to fruition. Clarkson has a very similar competition that Rob feels confident participating in.
When asked if he thinks he did the right thing going to the program and then staying at SUNY ADK another year, Rob said, “it was easy to transition from ECCA, SUNY ADK and now Clarkson. The rigor is more in depth and detailed but I felt comfortable and prepared each time I transitioned.”
A piece of advice he’d like to give to the current ECCA class is, “to stick with it, it will get hard but it’s worth it. You will come out on the other side. Don’t fall behind in your work. Stay on top of it and let your advisors or other teachers know about the program you are taking so they understand the workload you have and will see your drive and dedication.”
While Covid has slowed down his ability to network and hang out with a lot of people in person, he still networks online, has a LinkedIn profile that gets him job and internship offers and is working on Clarkson Podcasts with a team that is keeping him busy. He enjoys playing basketball and staying busy with everything college life.
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