We Are Knox...

Years ago, when deciding which college to attend, Jordan Ball had some very
specific ideas about what he expected.

He wanted to continue participating in sports, just as he had done at Cuba High School in his hometown of Cuba, Illinois. He also was looking for "a great academic experience."

"Knox offered the perfect opportunity," said Ball, an economics major who is a pitcher on the Prairie Fire baseball team. "When I visited Knox, I fell in love with it. I want other people to have the Knox experience that I've had."

Most recently, Ball's "Knox experience" has enabled him to rub elbows with entrepreneurs, work for a Chicago-based environmental consulting company, and gain insight into what it takes to build a successful business.

Those opportunities came his way through Business, Entrepreneurship, & Society, a program operated by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. ACM, a consortium consisting of Knox College and 13 other independent liberal arts colleges, offers several off-campus and international study programs.

Business, Entrepreneurship, & Society students live in Chicago while they develop independent study projects, acquire practical experience from internships, and interact with Chicago-based business innovators.

"Learning from all these different entrepreneurs has given me a can-do attitude," said Ball, who serves as president of the Knox College Business Club and as a member of Union Board. "This whole program has given me a lot of real-world experience."

He and his Chicago classmates spent time with several business leaders, including Rob Solomon, president of Groupon, which Forbes Magazine has described as "the fastest-growing company in Web history." The students spoke with several other entrepreneurs, including the founders of America's Dog, a hot dog business; Threadless, a T-shirt firm; and Shawnimals, a plush toy company.

"Chicago is an outstanding place to experience entrepreneurship and innovation in action, and this program offers students a valuable experiential opportunity to see how companies are built and compete," said Knox College Professor John Spittell, chair of the Business and Management program and Executive-in-Residence. The Chicago program "encourages students to integrate what they learn through their ACM coursework, internships, and interactive experiences with their ongoing academic work at Knox," he added. "For any student contemplating entering business after graduating from Knox, I would highly recommend this program."

At Knox, students in business and management courses often analyze case studies, and they benefit from Spittell's in-depth knowledge of the business profession. "Prior to joining the Knox faculty, I was an executive in the business world for almost 30 years," he said. "In addition to the specific academic subject at hand on any given day, I also relate the material to specific real-world situations, and students appreciate the opportunity to connect their academic studies to real-life situations."

While the ACM Business, Entrepreneurship, & Society program focused primarily on business and entrepreneurship, it also allowed Ball and the other students to explore Chicago's history, culture, and politics.

They met Joseph Moore, a 1980 Knox College graduate who is an alderman on the Chicago City Council. Ball later arranged to talk with him one-on-one. "I've really been using the connections we make here to learn from people," he said. "I've been proactive in getting to know people."

As an intern for e-One, a consulting firm in Chicago that encourages sustainability in the business world, Ball researched grants and worked on membership development. "We want small companies to get energy efficiency on their radar," he said.

Ball, who will graduate from Knox with minors in business and management and environmental studies, hopes to pursue a career that blends these academic interests. He also plans to encourage other Knox students to participate in the Business, Entrepreneurship, & Society program.

"It's opened so many doors for me," he said, "just being able to network with anybody and everybody."