Students and entrepreneurs collaborate to strengthen local businesses

This summer, Notre Dame senior Caitlin Dineen helped South Bend entrepreneurs troubleshoot the everyday challenges of running their ventures. Inside a brick storefront just west of downtown on Lincoln Way West, she met with small business owners, listened to their needs and provided guidance on everything from business planning to digital marketing.

Dineen interned at the University’s Collaboration Hub, which opened its doors a year ago. Since then, the hub has quickly become a go-to resource for local entrepreneurs and an experiential learning opportunity for area college students, including Notre Dame students in the University’s College of Arts and Letters and Mendoza College of Business.

“Seeing entrepreneurs’ passion and drive was really inspiring, and I appreciated the opportunity to support their work,” said Dineen, a psychology and business economics major who plans to work as a human resources consultant after graduation. “For me, this was also an opportunity to get hands-on experience with the various aspects of running a business.”

Building opportunity by training entrepreneurs

Dineen is among the approximately 50 students who have worked with the Collaboration Hub, part of the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business in Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. She is also among the 35 students who will work at the hub this fall.

The hub serves graduates of the McKenna Center’s South Bend Adversity and Entrepreneurship Program, part of the center’s Urban Poverty and Business Initiative. The initiative leverages entrepreneurship to boost economic opportunity and supports clients in more than 50 cities in the United States and around the world. The year-long program includes six weeks of training, 14 weeks of mentoring and 14 weeks of consulting. It also helps entrepreneurs access microcredit, maintains a database that tracks their progress and organizes community networking events. The program is led by Michael Morris, a Keough School entrepreneurship expert who frequently consults and publishes on the topic.

After completing the program, participants can continue to utilize the hub as a resource. It provides a range of services including continuing education, business consulting, technical training and help designing and producing marketing materials.

Small business owners find support to succeed

Local business owners appreciate the partnership. Angie Logan, who owns AngLes on Wheels with her husband, Les, worked with student consultants to enhance how she markets the food truck and catering business. They helped her design and build a new website that more prominently highlights her offerings (everything from chicken wings to mac and cheese and catfish nuggets). And her website now includes an online ordering form along with customer reviews, small touches that help her better connect with customers.

“As an entrepreneur, you’re used to doing everything yourself,” Logan said. “So sometimes it can be difficult to ask for or accept help. But if you can push past that, you realize there are resources that can help you take your business to the next level.”

Students learn by helping clients solve problems

Learning is a two-way street that benefits students as well as entrepreneurs. Quinn Littlefield, a Notre Dame junior majoring in accounting and history, has appreciated the opportunity to work with Joe Luten, who co-owns Importin’ Joe’s Ethiopian Coffee with his wife, Afomia.

“I think the biggest takeaway from this experience for me is that you learn from them just as much as they learn from you,” said Littlefield, who plans to work in municipal finance. “Working with Joe was a partnership that pushed me to keep learning. I helped him with budgeting while I was taking a managerial accounting class. So I was able to go to office hours and ask professors for help on a real-world challenge that was closely related to what I was learning in class.”

Jasleen Ghattora, a senior at Saint Mary’s College, was impressed by the breadth of experience she gained.

“My summer internship experience at the hub was great preparation for transitioning from college to the workplace because I worked with entrepreneurs from different industries including logistics, beauty, food, event planning and artificial intelligence,” said Ghattora, who is majoring in business administration. “I found myself doing everything from finance, accounting, and operational plans to marketing and social media. It really broadened my skill set.”

Translating dreams into economic opportunity

Community leaders appreciate the resources students provide through the hub. Gladys Muhammad, who has championed South Bend community development and neighborhood revitalization for decades, has seen firsthand how students have connected with local people.

“Many people in this neighborhood want to become entrepreneurs, and there’s been a real need,” she said. “People keep coming and coming. The students are always happy to help people, to listen to the ideas they have and to help answer any questions they need to ask.”

That hands-on engagement is an important aspect of creating opportunity and supporting South Bend’s continued revitalization, Muhammad said.

“I think this is the kind of thing Notre Dame does,” she said. “It’s building capacity by empowering people and giving them the knowledge and tools they need to succeed. And it’s helping people make their dreams a reality and supporting economic development right here in our community.”

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How to get involved

The Collaboration Hub welcomes members of the community to get involved as volunteers and mentors. For more information, email Michael Morris at mmorri24@nd.edu.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on September 03, 2025.