The purpose of this action research study was to understand better student perceptions of entrepreneurship opportunities, with a particular focus on exploring how a peer-mentor might play a helping role supporting the entrepreneurial activities of their peer students in a college environment. This action research study focused on the experience of a five-week, virtual mentorship program. The theoretical perspectives guiding the research included the work of Ajzen, Bandura, and Stets and Burke. In this mixed method study, quantitative data were collected for three constructs—self-efficacy, entrepreneurial identity, and entrepreneurial mindset. Quantitative data were gathered using pre- and post-intervention surveys. Qualitative data were gathered through written journal reflections and semi-structured interviews at the end of the study. Participants were undergraduate students serving as mentors and first-year, full-time students engaging as mentees. The study was conducted during the fall 2020 semester and occurred in a fully, virtual format in response to COVID-19 public health considerations. Modest increases in levels of agreement with entrepreneurial self-efficacy and relational support for entrepreneurship were indicated from the analysis of the quantitative results. A slight decline for entrepreneurial identity also occurred. Qualitative data provided richer understandings of student perspectives. Themes around the perception of self, relationship with others, entrepreneurial focus, and feelings towards entrepreneurship emerged from the mentee’s qualitative data. Central themes for the mentor data included helping, focusing on the college experience, and feelings as a mentor. The perspectives of mentors and mentees were also explored in analysis of journal entries. Students indicated they valued entrepreneurial activity and mindset, with the majority expressing future goals relevant to entrepreneurship. The discussion focused on the complementarity of the data, connection of the outcomes to the theoretical frameworks, personal lessons learned, limitations of the study, and implications for research and my own practice.

Research has indicated that, with the rise of the digital age, social ability, emotional maturity, and the capability to empathize have decreased significantly in the newer generations (Generation X and Millenials) compared with previous generations. The primary purpose of this thesis was to discover a way to counteract the negative effects of constant screen-time with a space that encourages face-to-face interactions while also contributing monetarily to the community by which it is surrounded.
This thesis explores the viability of the creation of a board game café in downtown Phoenix that would donate a percentage of its profits to local charities and other initiatives for the improvement of the Phoenix area. Using a combination of different entrepreneurship and business model templates, fourteen questions were answered to complete the business model, including questions about resources and partnerships necessary for the venture’s success in addition to what the cost structure and revenue streams would look like. These fourteen questions make up the fourteen different parts of the Lean Launch Business Model Canvas, the template primarily used for the display of the final business model. The business model canvas undergoes “cycles” – that is, different drafts of the canvas are created and added to or modified as needed. This particular business model canvas underwent as many as 15 cycles before becoming finalized and receiving approval.
The completion of the business model canvas invites speculation about its actual viability, bringing up questions about financing, projected sales, and the length of the venture’s future. “Pivots,” modifications of the business model to either increase revenue or decrease costs, are also explored at this point. While this particular business idea does have a sustainable competitive advantage in the Phoenix area as a first mover, it would be unwise to pursue the idea further, as the costs are far too high and the required activities far too numerous to outweigh the revenues and benefits. In addition, it would be difficult to obtain funding at a reasonable interest rate for a venture with such a high risk of failure. In this case, a pivot was considered that eliminated nearly all costs and risk, while still relying on a very similar revenue stream. This pivot suggested a far simpler and more economical way of accomplishing the original goal of bettering the Phoenix metro community and giving customers the chance to rediscover in-person communication.

This study used exploratory data analysis (EDA) to examine the use of a biofeedback intervention in the treatment of anxiety for college students diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (n=10) and in a typical college population (n=37). The use of EDA allowed for trends to emerge from the data and provided a foundation for future research in the areas of biofeedback and accommodations for college students with ASD. Comparing the first five weeks of the study with the second five weeks of the 10 week study, both groups showed improvement in their control of heart rate variability, a physiological marker for anxiety used in biofeedback. The ASD group showed greater gains, more consistent gains, and less variability in raw scores than the typical group. EDA also revealed a pattern between participant attrition and a participant's biofeedback progress. Implications are discussed.