Entrepreneurship, Really

The Ciocca Center invites alums and students into conversation to talk frankly about the ups and downs of owning your own business.

Entrepreneurship, Really
Aleisha Nelson ’17 M.S. ’19 started her art business while living on campus. Image by Dalton Johnson Photography.

A new initiative out of the Leavey School of Business brings together alumni and current students to dis- cuss the intersection of passion projects, the entrepreneurial mindset, and self-actualization.

The first sessions of Broncos, Actually, hosted by the Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, featured Jason Khalipa ’08—a management major and CrossFit Games champion who founded the global fitness company NCFIT—and Aleisha Nelson ’17 M.S. ’19, a computer science alumna who turned her love for art into Art by Aleisha, selling customized, hand-painted maps.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, it has a lot of challenges,” Khalipa told participants before leading them in “an open, transparent conversation on what it’s like to open a business, grow that business, and the challenges I’ve had to overcome.”

Nelson, meanwhile, discussed the importance of patience when starting a new company; she started Art by Aleisha while a junior at SCU and grew it through social media. “I reminded the students that it’s taken me four years—and a lot of late nights and weekends—to get my brand to where it is today.”

A Crescendo of Achievements

Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 shares how his Santa Clara experience and passion for composition led to the creation of his largest project to date: “Dolores.”

Haunted or Not? We Ask the Winchester Historian

“One day, I was at the house very early when no one else was there, and I heard the clearest footsteps treading on the metal roof above me.” Meet Janan Boehme ’81, the first-ever historian of the Winchester Mystery House.

Impact That Lasts

“Steve and I want whatever is left when we die to make a real difference for people and the planet.”

A California Leader

Richard Riordan ’52 leaves a lasting California legacy as a distinguished leader, committed philanthropist, and a visionary innovator.