Center for Entrepreneurship, Economics & Finance

Our newly-designed Center for Entrepreneurship, Economics & Finance (CEEF) provides introductory and advanced courses for students along with the opportunity to apply foundation concepts to explore and learn real-world critical thinking skills in entrepreneuship, economics and finance.

Students taking WMA’s Finance courses will learn key financial concepts, investment tools and the foundations to building an investment portfolio, all while increasing their knowledge in financial literacy and global economics.

Entrepreneurship courses teach students how to think and act like entrepreneurs. Through their coursework, they will plan, implement and evaluate real programs including for profit and non-profit organizations.

Students enrolled in CEEF courses will utilize the state-of-the-art Mark R. Shenkman Trading Center, as well as WMA’s computer lab to embark on active research and gain trading experience in their journey to understanding the global financial environment. WMA’s showcase facility houses 16 computer stations with monitor displays, two 65-inch LCD monitors, LED dynamic stock ticker, StockTrack market simulation software and Morningstar™ Financial Data, as well as video conferencing capabilities.

I came into Wilbraham Monson as purely a C student my freshman year. I left on the honor roll thanks to the mentorship of Mrs. Hsiao and Jim Irzyk. I won the Evelyne Barber prize for finance and entrepreneurship my senior year. Countless faculty members at WMA elevated me as a student and allowed me to thrive.
- John Tierney '15

Leadership and Extracurricular Opportunities

The Finance, Entrepreneurship & Business Society (FEB) is a student-run organization which promotes financial literacy, business, economics and entrepreneurship among students, faculty and members of WMA and the local community.

Students attending WMA also have opportunities to attend speaker series, visit colleges and university programs and participate in business and finance competitions.

CEEF courses

AP Macroeconomics

The purpose of the AP course in macroeconomics is to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to a typical college introductory macroeconomic course and prepare them for the AP exam in the spring. Students will be taught economic principles that apply to an economic system as a whole. Emphasis is placed on the study of national income, price determination, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics. Through lectures, class discussions, class activities and homework assignments, students define terms, calculate and interpret tabular data, conduct graphical analysis, analyze hypothetical scenarios, and develop skills in explanatory diagrams and technical writing. The course utilizes the text Principles of Economics by Gregory N. Mankiw in addition to supplementary reading and listening material.

Entrepreneurship

Students prepare for becoming responsible, enterprising entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers who contribute to economic development and sustainable communities. The curriculum follows the framework of the National Standards for Entrepreneurship Education. Students will use strategies for idea generation and assessment of feasibility of ideas; learn to understand basic free market economy and the entrepreneur's role in the economy; expand their awareness of social responsibility and the entrepreneur's contribution to society; demonstrate an understanding of financial management and basic accounting principles; and understand steps essential in business startup. Students will read related literature, including case studies, and create new model ventures with a focus on opportunity recognition, resource management, and team building.

Global Entrepreneurship

This course is designed to develop a basic understanding of some of the variety of business systems in Asia (or Europe) and the opportunities/pitfalls of operating a business in one or more of these societies. Students will understand the evolution and development of business in global societies; how and why they are different/similar; the relationship of the business system to the culture and history of that nation; the special advantages of different nations and their prospects for the future; economic strengths and weaknesses; and the relationship to the global economy.

Introduction to Market Economies

This course is an introduction to the core principles of economics and how market economies all over the world function. Topics considered include the four goals of economic policy: productivity and growth; price stability; full employment; and exchange stability. The course introduces the laws of supply and demand, measurements of economic performance, tools of the financial sector, productivity, stabilization policies, international trade and the contribution of the entrepreneur to economic development and management. It is a prerequisite to CEEF advanced electives in economics, finance and entrepreneurship. Students gain skills in analytical reading and writing, research, note-taking and verbal presentation through class discussions.

Portfolio Management

This one trimester course provides an overview of how an individual would build a portfolio over time and manage a portfolio based on the fundamental principles of portfolio management. Emphasis will be placed on techniques to develop a portfolio, researching mutual funds and stocks, and the evaluation of portfolio performance. Topics will include portfolio diversification, investment analysis, risk, financial literacy and asset allocation. Projects include researching a mutual fund company and preparing a personal investment plan.

Social Entrepreneurship

The Social Entrepreneur is someone who creates and runs a specialized nonprofit or public sector enterprise. In this course, students will explore ways to apply the basic business concepts learned in Entrepreneurship to solve the world’s toughest social and environmental problems. The students will create a model business that will raise funds for a social or environmental cause of their choice and then dissolve the business at the end of the trimester with monies earned going to a nonprofit of that cause. These individual projects will weave issues of accounting, finance, organizational management, and marketing with social and ethical responsibility.

Stock Market Analysis

This one trimester course provides advanced study of the stock market and interpreting financial statements in order to select stocks for a portfolio. Students will learn the application of technical analysis and fundamental analysis in selecting stocks that matches risk tolerance. Long-term stock investment analysis and trading strategies will be examined in relation to portfolio theory and cycles in the stock market.

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Center for Entrepreneurship, Economics & Finance

CEEF courses

AP Macroeconomics

Entrepreneurship

Global Entrepreneurship

Introduction to Market Economies

Portfolio Management

Social Entrepreneurship

Stock Market Analysis

Meet our CEEF faculty

Gayle Hsiao

Jim Irzyk

Erik Kindblom