The Southern Management Leadership Program is a unique three-year experiential educational program that supports, develops, and graduates ethical leaders who want to energize and give back to their local communities. The Program provides scholarships to college students from Montgomery College, Prince George’s Community College and the University of Maryland, who have an enthusiasm for seeking leadership roles in careers they are passionate about, and will use their knowledge and skills to make the state of Maryland, and the world, a better place for all. Students complete their associate’s degree at Montgomery College and transfer as a cohort to complete their bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland, College Park while also earning a minor in technology entrepreneurship.
The Vision
Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Scholarship
The Southern Management Leadership Program is a scholarship initiative targeted to students who have an interest in entrepreneurship and an enthusiasm for starting a business venture, launching a new idea, or leading a company. The goal of the program is to support, develop, and graduate ethical leaders who want to energize and give back to their local communities.
The Southern Management Leadership Program is designed to help students:
- Develop the skills for identifying and analyzing entrepreneurial opportunities
- Learn through a curriculum focused on entrepreneurship
- Engage with mentors in the business community to help turn dreams into businesses
- Graduate and become successful leaders who give back to their local communities
The Model
Growing an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
The Southern Management Leadership Program offers a new model in entrepreneurial education. Students with an internal drive to succeed start their college career at either Prince George’s Community College or Montgomery College and transfer to the University of Maryland to complete their degree in any major. Through financial support and academic and professional mentoring as well as team-building opportunities through service, business development projects, and community engagement, they forge bonds of respect and support that are lifelong and deep.
When students transfer to the University of Maryland College Park to complete their undergraduate education, they continue to build their networks and leadership skills and discover their true value. Naturally this leads to a desire to reach back and support those who follow in their footsteps. Our graduates become mentors for new students, a source of referral to new opportunities, and lifelong members of a rich and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This program has always been about training entrepreneurial leaders who will become the ethical leaders of tomorrow. Just as David and Suzanne Hillman have given back to the community that has brought them success, these entrepreneurs in turn contribute to the economic growth of the community and help others who follow after them succeed. In the end, this model serves our students but also the business communities and economy in our state and beyond. The ecosystem continues to grow and expand!