Saw Golden Chit, who lives in the poor Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, also known as Burma, said he's wanted to run a business and be his own boss since he was a child.
In 2013, he enrolled in the Startup program through Opportunities NOW, a fledgling entrepreneurship school in Myanmar. The three-month program teaches students how to run a business before allowing them to come up with their own ideas. If an idea is approved, the student is given a small loan to get started.
Opportunities NOW was created in 2012 by Matt Wallace, a 2006 University of Illinois Springfield graduate, and his friend Ryan Russell.
Wallace, 31, said he wanted to start the school as a means to help alleviate the poverty in Myanmar, where half the 51 million residents live on as little as $2 a day and the unemployment rate is 70 percent in some areas.
“The education system is a wreck,” Wallace said. “It’s really a system based on rote memorization, and out of high school, people are not prepared to work. Small businesses were not going to grow. We’re there to help build the private sector to help empower people.”
A former resident of Trilla, Illinois, Wallace said he got the idea to start the school while he was an undergrad at UIS, working toward a bachelor’s degree in political science. He looked at different government structures in Southeast Asia, and by the time he had finished his studies, he decided he wanted to move to Myanmar to try to help the people there.
“When I graduated, no one was talking about Burma at the time,” he said. “It just seemed to make a lot of sense.”
This story was featured in The State Journal-Register on January 19, 2016.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
UIS students participate in MLK Day of Service
Ashley Osuma grabbed a roller and got to work Monday painting the upstairs hallway at the Family Service Center in Springfield.
The O’Fallon native was one of 130 University of Illinois Springfield students volunteering Monday as part of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Osuma, a sophomore, said she isn’t much of a painter, but participated because she wants to do more volunteer work.
“I just wanted to do something more productive with my time and try and make a difference,” she said.
Mark Dochterman, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, said this was the fourth year the university has organized a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The number of volunteers has grown from 30 students in year one to 130 this year, he said.
Because more students volunteered, Dochterman said, the university was able to expand the list of nonprofits it could help.
Habitat for Humanity, Hope Thrift Store, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, M.E.R.C.Y. Communities, Ronald McDonald House, Senior Services of Central Illinois, Serving Jesus Willingly Mission and Springfield Urban League also got volunteer help Monday.
The story was featured in The State Journal-Register on January 19, 2016.
Read the article online
The O’Fallon native was one of 130 University of Illinois Springfield students volunteering Monday as part of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
“I just wanted to do something more productive with my time and try and make a difference,” she said.
Mark Dochterman, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, said this was the fourth year the university has organized a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The number of volunteers has grown from 30 students in year one to 130 this year, he said.
Because more students volunteered, Dochterman said, the university was able to expand the list of nonprofits it could help.
Habitat for Humanity, Hope Thrift Store, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, M.E.R.C.Y. Communities, Ronald McDonald House, Senior Services of Central Illinois, Serving Jesus Willingly Mission and Springfield Urban League also got volunteer help Monday.
The story was featured in The State Journal-Register on January 19, 2016.
Read the article online
Walker's fiery halftime talk sparks UIS men
University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball coach Bill Walker admits he let his team have it at halftime Saturday.
Whatever words he used, Walker’s message was heard loud and clear. The Prairie Stars came alive in the second half and pulled off a 79-63 win over William Jewell in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at The Recreation and Athletic Center.
“We needed that, definitely,” UIS senior guard Jamall Millison said about Walker’s halftime speech.
Senior guard JJ Cravatta said Walker got the team’s attention. “That was the turning point for us,” Cravatta said. “To let us know to take this stuff personally.”
Walker had reasons to go into the locker room less than pleased. He was unhappy with the effort, and UIS made just eight of its 29 shots from the field in the first half. Despite shooting 27.6 percent, UIS only trailed 37-30 at halftime.
“In 27 years, I probably threw the biggest tantrum I’ve ever thrown and I’m a little embarrassed by it,” Walker said. “I said, ‘You can’t let bad shooting affect your defense. We were missing shots and our defense dropped off. We really went flat (in the first half). Our energy translated into our shooting.”
A spirited late push led to UIS earning its first conference win of the season. 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points. Freshman center Zach Steinberg contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds. Cravatta had 13 points.
The story was featured in The State-Journal-Register on January 17, 2016.
Read the article online
Whatever words he used, Walker’s message was heard loud and clear. The Prairie Stars came alive in the second half and pulled off a 79-63 win over William Jewell in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at The Recreation and Athletic Center.
“We needed that, definitely,” UIS senior guard Jamall Millison said about Walker’s halftime speech.
Senior guard JJ Cravatta said Walker got the team’s attention. “That was the turning point for us,” Cravatta said. “To let us know to take this stuff personally.”
Walker had reasons to go into the locker room less than pleased. He was unhappy with the effort, and UIS made just eight of its 29 shots from the field in the first half. Despite shooting 27.6 percent, UIS only trailed 37-30 at halftime.
“In 27 years, I probably threw the biggest tantrum I’ve ever thrown and I’m a little embarrassed by it,” Walker said. “I said, ‘You can’t let bad shooting affect your defense. We were missing shots and our defense dropped off. We really went flat (in the first half). Our energy translated into our shooting.”
A spirited late push led to UIS earning its first conference win of the season. 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points. Freshman center Zach Steinberg contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds. Cravatta had 13 points.
The story was featured in The State-Journal-Register on January 17, 2016.
Read the article online
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