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Aspiring entrepreneurs get a leg up

College, university team up for new program in Prince George’s

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Ian Hurley⁄The Gazette Jamesha A. Bazemore, one of 20 students in the new Hillman Entrepreneurs Program, laughs during a talk Monday by David H. Hillman (right), whose family foundation donated $1.7 million to the pilot program.

Keelay Butler promised her dying grandmother she would get an education and serve the community. Butler, a Suitland High School graduate, wants to open a group home for runaways, abused children and pregnant teenagers. Until then, she’s running Suitland High School’s college and career center.

Adrian Price, who earned money selling candy as a teenager, says he simply wants to be a ‘‘successful business owner, a respectful citizen and a role model for others.”

These are the stories of the Hillman entrepreneurs, who have big business dreams, but little means to achieve those goals.

‘‘It’s really opened my eyes to what an entrepreneur really is,” said Butler, a 32-year-old single mother who lives in Forestville. ‘‘For me to provide for my son, I had to go back and get a college education.”

Prince George’s Community College and the University of Maryland launched the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program this week for county students who want to start their own companies, but don’t meet the academic requirements to attend a four-year school.

The pilot program, which received $1.7 million from the David H. and Suzanne D. Hillman Family Foundation, enrolled 20 second-year college students in its inaugural class. Organizers originally wanted 30 students in the program, but did not begin recruitment early enough, said Jacqueline H. Rogers, a senior fellow with the University of Maryland, College Park. They expect more applications once the word gets out, she said.

Students in the program first earn an associate’s degree at the community college and then transfer to the University of Maryland, College Park, to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The students can take any course of study, except pre-law, and are supposed to receive mentoring, business internship opportunities and scholarships to cover the annual cost for tuition and books.

The concept came from a casual conversation two years ago between Ronald A. Williams, president of Prince George’s Community College in Largo, and David H. Hillman, CEO of Southern Management in Vienna, Va., Rogers said.

‘‘He called me up in the fall and said, ‘Go find Ron Williams, and you guys figure out how [to] find people like me, and make sure they get the education I didn’t get,’” Rogers recalled.

Hillman, whose company owns apartment complexes throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region and who has donated thousands of dollars to the community college since 1996, wasn’t always successful.

‘‘I didn’t get a chance to go to college cause my grades were no good and there was no money in the house,” Hillman said. ‘‘Now, I’ve got the means to do more, and I didn’t want to just give money. I wanted to control it and make sure it was doing some good.”

Hillman said that he and his wife, Suzanne, hope to fund the entrepreneur program annually, but only if this year’s program is successful.

‘‘This is an experiment,” Hillman said. ‘‘Suzanne and I don’t believe in writing checks and walking away.”

Wade Cassamajor, a 20-year-old real estate agent, eventually wants to start his own development company. But a bad experience two years ago with a fraudulent real estate partner, who persuaded Cassamajor’s family to invest $45,000 to refinance their home, has taught him a lot about business ethics. Cassamajor used the commission from a home he sold to hire a lawyer and, eventually, get the money back.

‘‘It taught me that there’s no easy way to wealth,” Cassamajor said. ‘‘It taught me how important it is to be ethical as a businessman.”

He’s pinning his hopes on the Hillman program.

‘‘The program is designed for students who fell through the cracks,” Cassamajor said. ‘‘Being in this program will give me the edge I need to start my own business. It’s designed to make us entrepreneurs.”

For Jermaine Johns, a 33-year-old community college student and disabled Army veteran, the program is a ‘‘positive step.” He already owns a lawn care business, but also wants to build homes and open a computer store.

Johns, who lives in Upper Marlboro, says he wants to be the employer, not the employee.

According to Rogers, Hillman and Williams, there’s a lot riding on the inaugural class.

‘‘They’re all very entrepreneurial. They’re all interesting in different ways,” Rogers said. ‘‘They have spotty academic records, but they’re all highly motivated. If we do this right, and don’t blow it, then we’re happy.”

E-mail Marcus Moore at mmoore@gazette.net.