Newswise — As part of Syracuse University’s Courage Day celebrations honoring military and veteran organizations, on Saturday November 6th, four graduates of the Whitman School’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veteran’s with Disabilities (EBV) program have been selected to serve as honorary captains of the Syracuse University football team for the game against Louisville. The four veterans - Jesse Canella (Ridgewood, NJ), Dalia Rivera (Aberdeen, MD), Henry Rivera (Aberdeen, MD), and Terry Sims (Dayton, OH) – are all 2010 graduates of the EBV program.
The EBV was first launched at the Whitman School of Management in 2007, and is a world-class training program in entrepreneurship and small business management offered to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service. The program has since expanded to a network of other business schools across the U.S. that include UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business, the Mays School of Business at Texas A University, the Krannert School at Purdue University, and the College of Business at the University of Connecticut.
One of the honorary captains Jesse Canella, a 24 year old Marine Corps veteran from Ridgewood, NJ, graduated from the EBV program at Syracuse University in 2010. Jesse says, “At 15 years old I remember seeing the smoke from the fallen trade center towers out of the window of my school bus on September 11th 2001, and swore to enlist and fight for my country. I enlisted in the Marines with written consent from my parents at the age of 17, and left for boot camp 12 days after graduating high school in 2004.”
Jesse deployed to Al An Bar province of Iraq as an infantry rifleman, and while deployed he conducted over 180 missions. Jesse came to the EBV program at Syracuse University to learn the skills he needs to launch a not-for-profit venture called HonorVet, an online forum where veterans can share their transition related struggles and experiences with other veterans and professional counselors. In addition to representing the team on the field at the start of the game on Saturday, Jesse will also speak to the players and coaches during their final practice before the game on Friday.
The EBV graduates will also take part in a very special presentation during halftime of the game. On behalf of the Dream Machine recycling program, Jeremy Cage, Senior Vice President, Innovation and Insights at PepsiCo Beverages Americas, will present the EBV with a $500,000 donation. The Dream Machine program - a multi-year collaboration between PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Waste Management (NYSE: WM) and Keep America Beautiful - was designed to drive success around PepsiCo's goal of increasing the U.S. beverage container recycling rate from 34 to 50 percent by 2018. The program is introducing thousands of recycling bins and computerized kiosks at popular locations across the United States to offer people a convenient and rewarding way to recycle their bottles and cans while on-the-go. The more that people recycle in a Dream Machine, the more support PepsiCo can provide EBV. To learn more visit: www.facebook.com/DreamMachine.
“Recognizing these four outstanding veterans as a part of Courage Day is a small gesture on our part, when compared to everything they have sacrificed for this nation. It will truly be a special day here at Syracuse University,” says Mel Stith, Dean of the Whitman School of Management.
About Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines disabled as a result of their service supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The program was founded at Syracuse University in 2007, and has since expanded to a network of world-class business schools that includes the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business, the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University, the Krannert School at Purdue University, and the College of Business at the University of Connecticut.
About PepsiCoPepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com. To learn more about the Dream Machine, please visit www.facebook.com/DreamMachine.
About the Whitman School of Management The Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University was established as the College of Business Administration in 1919. In 1920, it was only the 16th collegiate business school in the nation to be accredited. The Whitman School offers academic programs leading to the BS, MS, MBA, and PhD degrees, All degrees are accredited by the AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Management. Whitman is home to more than 2,000 students across all programs. The school continues to be ranked among the nation’s top business programs in U.S. News & World Report and Businessweek. Melvin T. Stith ’73 MBA, ’78 PhD is the current and 16th dean of the Whitman School of Management.
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