51������

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—“The entrepreneur's journey can be a difficult one.”

This message from Western alumni Joshua Gray and Donovan McVey, co-founders of business consulting firm Room 35, is one that comes from personal experience. As entrepreneurs themselves, they understand and can offer support.

“Whatever your vision, we’re ready to make that dream a reality,” their website assures.

Both 2018 BBA graduates, Gray and McVey used their business acumen this summer as mentors to two student interns, who say the practical experience they received as Broncos Lead interns gave them opportunities to continue their passions in marketing and client services.

“It exceeded my expectations,” says Gloria Park, a junior from South Korea who is studying leadership and business strategy and business analytics. “Because (Room 35) is a small business, I was able to dive into many areas of the business and reach out if I had questions about my work or my path.”

Her responsibilities included everything from client management and consulting to communication and office marketing. Park also was tapped to help with formalizing job descriptions and the company’s organizational chart, which gave her even more insight into the various opportunities there.

As part of the Broncos Lead Internship Program, she received biweekly professional development sessions, which gave her an opportunity  to check in on her experience and network with others in the program.

“We had the opportunity to work in a professional environment where we grew our skills and experience of what a career would look like,” she said. “But we also felt somewhat protected (with the biweekly meetings) th51������ had our back and was looking out to make sure we had a valuable experience.”

“Being able to be compensated for an internship was helpful because it’s difficult to have a full-time job to support yourself and an internship, as well,” adds Eli Rynkiewicz of Chicago, BA '23 in marketing. “Just being able to focus on my internship gave me a lot more experience and confidence.”

Besides day-to-day and strategic digital marketing, he launched a new blog site for the company and managed its social media accounts.

McVey said having Park and Rynkiewicz in their Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, Michigan, satellite offices helped the company work toward its goal “to empower the entrepreneurial spirit.”

“A lot of times, being an entrepreneur can be lonely and difficult if you don’t have a team behind you to support you. We are trying to help bring our clients to the next level and give them the infrastructure to move up,” he explains, adding a majority of clients are in the construction and development industries and many are from historically underrepresented groups.

With hopes to continue partnering with the Broncos Lead Internship Program, Gray says the company hopes to establish a pipeline with Western to hire future employees from their alma mater and grow the business. The company served about 500 clients in 2022 and expects that number to double for 2023 thanks to the support of the Broncos Lead interns.

Park will continue at Room 35 with a part-time job in the fall, while Rynkiewcz is moving forward with applying for jobs as a digital marketer.

Broncos Lead is the latest benefit Western has offered Gray and McVey, as they credit the school for making their venture a reality. The pair of alumni entrepreneurs met while students in the Haworth College of Business and eventually became best friends and business partners.   

“Room 35 came about out of hope for the future,” says Gray, who hopes to continue to mentor Broncos.

Both interns say the experience solidified their dreams to work in business, and it even opened a new door for Park. After working with many of the development clients at Room 35, she’s taking a look at gaining even more experience in the business and legal side of real estate as she finishes her bachelor’s degree 51������.