Albany State student selected as Mary Ellen Pleasant Entrepreneur Fellow

ALBANY – Albany State University (ASU) student Markia Brown joins the inaugural cohort of fellows in the Mary Ellen Pleasant Entrepreneur (MEPE) Fellowship program. The program is a partnership between the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions and the minority-owned recruitment marketing platform, The Whether.

Brown joins 24 other scholars from Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country. The MEPE Fellowship aims to increase future entrepreneurs from HBCUs and is part of a $775,000 Innovations in Career Advising grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“I was excited to be selected as an MEPE fellow. I knew that great candidates would apply, and it would be a competitive process,” Brown said.

Brown has the opportunity to build a peer-advising startup through a 10-week virtual fellowship during the Spring 2019 semester with the help of The Whether’s virtual business and marketing-focused curriculum and their scientifically-validated Clarity Assessment. The Clarity Assessment focuses on sharpening the critical thinking skills of students about their post-secondary life.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be creative and innovative. I am also excited to help other students gain more insight about themselves. I plan to help my peers grow, flourish, and realize their full potential,” Brown said.

Throughout the fellowship, participants will learn key startup principles and the components to successful and sustainable entrepreneurship, participate in a virtual curriculum on marketing, the customer funnel, virtually collaborate with the Whether’s peer-advising platform across partner institutions, and experiment with innovative techniques to assist students on campus in identifying career paths and interests.

Brown is a senior marketing major and Fort Lauderdale, Florida native. She is currently a dean’s list recipient, vice president of the Student Government Association and marketing club president, among other extracurricular activities. Following graduation, she plans to work as a retail marketing manager. Brown’s current entrepreneurial endeavor focuses on encouraging others to use fashion as a channel for creativity and self-expression.

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