Creativity and community shine through Michaela as she discusses her time at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Graduating in May, she will leave with a bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship as well as two minors; one in creative writing and another in theater.
A local Omaha resident, Michaela Lentsch attended Ralston High School where she nurtured a particular talent and a fledgling idea for a business, sewing. Starting as a passion that began in 7th grade and developing throughout high school, she entertained the notion of opening her own shop one day and the idea remained with her through graduation and into college, where she recognized that fulfilling this dream required knowledge in the mechanics of business operations.
Michaela began the application process to enroll for the Susan T. Buffet Scholarship, an undergraduate scholarship for students that assists in covering the cost of attending college, during the final days of hers senior year in high school. After being awarded the scholarship, Michaela had her choice of Nebraska universities. She settled at UNO and is now a member of the Thompson Learning Community (TLC).
It is her 5th year at UNO, an added benefit of the scholarship resulting in an additional academic year paid. Because of this extra time, she was able to pursue and complete a pair of minors. The community is a highlight for Michaela, specifically being a Peer Mentor for two academic years where she could work more closely with the staff and others within the program.
“The TLC is such a wonderful program. We’re all very close knit. It’s a great environment for people to come together and meet, celebrating achievements and supplying support.”
Having already conceived of sewing business in high school it was only natural to pick a concentration in entrepreneurship. “It seemed like a really clear path,” she says. “To be connected to faculty and students in a similar mindset and environment that they would understand my questions and concerns related to starting a business and being able to provide me with advice.”
The courses and accessible events, such as the Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference, are designed to incorporate real-world activities to build the skills of students and to teach them what it means to be an entrepreneur, from pitching ideas to potential buyers to networking within the community to learning about new venture formations.
One particular business professor stand out for Michaela. Dr. Shannon Cummins and the Professional Selling course both contributed to the growth of her confidence in public speaking and interacting with “the customer” in the sales process. “Dr. Cummins did an incredible job to help us gain confidence yet also provided us useful feedback.”
Michaela is very excited about her plans after graduation. She will be pursuing a master’s degree at UNL for Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, specializing in apparel design. This will help expand her knowledge in these fields as it will apply directly to her business venture. She wants to be on campus as much as possible getting hands-on experience, so she intends on taking the charter bus that makes the trip daily from UNO’s Scott Campus to the drop off location at UNL.
Though focused and ambitious about her business venture and education, Michaela has not forgotten her creative side and exploring it more in depth. She is an amateur fiction writer and poet, planning on publishing her work soon after processing some revisions over this summer. She acknowledges Prof. Kevin Clouther and the writer’s workshop as amazing support to help her develop into a better author.
Michaela has a few words of advice for incoming students. “Take opportunities when they’re presented to you. Sometimes they may be a little bit scary, but a lot of times taking the risk is worth it. It can open so many doors and possibilities that you didn’t expect before.”