Press Release

SCORE volunteers mentor Eller College Honors students

Unique internship pairs SCORE advisors with Eller undergraduates to provide real consulting services to Tucson-based start-ups

TUCSON, Ariz. – NOVEMBER 8, 2006 – Eller College of Management undergraduates are providing advice about developing marketing plans, studying financial statements, and performing research to start-up business owners in the Tucson community. And business owners are using that information to take action.

Again this year, the Eller College of Management is partnering with the Tucson branch of SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Business — a national nonprofit organization of retired executives who serve as advisors to small businesses and entrepreneurs — to connect honors students with mentors for a unique internship opportunity. Students work with the mentors to help local entrepreneurs with the intricacies of their business plans.

Three Eller College undergraduates – junior finance major Eric Wilson, senior finance major Myrnaelena Lopez, and senior business economics major Charles Post – are working with SCORE mentors on a series of projects that directly expose the students to the challenges of the world of small business. “Our goal is to get the students interested in the small business world; especially to get them involved in small start-up businesses,” said SCORE student intern facilitator Rao G. Bollimpalli.

“Working with [SCORE mentor] Steve Laden this semester has been a great experience,” said Post. “We have worked on a wide variety of projects, ranging from client advising to developing marketing plans, to analyzing financial statements and performing research for clients.”

“The SCORE internships have proven to be a winning program for both our students and the business community,” said Paul Melendez, director of the Ethics and Honors Undergraduate Programs and a School of Public Administration & Policy lecturer. “The students are simultaneously learning what makes a business succeed or fail while also making a contribution to the community. The business community wins by gaining from the research, theory, and fresh ideas the students bring from their classes.”

SCORE mentor Mario Vedrich has been working with Wilson this semester and lauds the program benefits. “Eric is being exposed to the real world of small business start-ups as well as small business expansions,” he said. “He will see the result of good planning, poor planning, and no planning — a microcosm of the small business world that fuels our economy. “

About SCORE

SCORE – Counselors to America's Small Business is a nonprofit association comprised of 11,500 volunteer business counselors throughout the U.S. and its territories. SCORE members are successful entrepreneurs or executives in corporate America trained to serve as advisors and mentors to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. SCORE business experts provide general business advice on everything from how to write a business plan, to cash flow management, to developing a small business advisory board. SCORE was formed in 1964 and nearly 4.5 million Americans have utilized SCORE services.

The Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona is internationally recognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguished faculty, excellence in entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. U.S.News & World Report ranks the Eller undergraduate program #12 among public business schools and five of its departments are among the top 25 — Entrepreneurship, MIS, Marketing, Management and Organizations, and Accounting. The MPA program in the School of Public Administration and Policy ranks in the top 50. Financial Times ranks the Eller MBA full-time program #27 in the U.S. and #57 in the world, and Forbes ranks the program among the top 50 nationwide. The College leads the nation’s business schools in generating grant funds for research. In addition to a full-time MBA program, the Eller College offers an evening MBA program, and the Eller Executive MBA. The Eller College of Management supports more than 5,100 undergraduate and 600 graduate students on the UA campus in beautiful Tucson, Arizona.

Press Contact:
Liz Warren-Pederson, Eller College of Management
520.626.9547, news@eller.arizona.edu