From Metropolitan Learning Center in Bloomfield Connecticut to Albertus Magnus College for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Kobéy Smith ’20, 21′ has always been an entrepreneur at heart. Kobéy now introduces Albertus Innovates, a podcast with the mission of showing young creative minds where innovation and boldly following dreams can take them.
Inside the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, room 104 in the Hubert Campus Center, you’ll find 3D printers, plenty of space for hands-on learning, designs from Kobéy’s own brand, and a giant whiteboard with his to-do list proudly displayed. As the center’s coordinator, Kobéy provides students with a multitude of resources including networking events, workshops, and lessons on taking a business idea and running with it.
A significant career trend he is seeing is that students are transitioning out of the desire to work for someone else.
“A lot of students today are very driven and self-sufficient. And I think the pandemic really lit the fire under a lot of us. These students want to start their own businesses but don’t know where to go.”
That’s where Kobéy comes in.
“You can have the next biggest thing, a big idea, but if your mindset is wrong you’re not going to be successful.”
Kobéy hopes his new podcast, Albertus Innovates, will support the right mindset and bring more awareness to how he and the center support young leaders. He has been running the center for just over a year now, building it from the ground up, which is an entrepreneurial act in itself.
“There wasn’t really a structure on how to do things, so I had to learn on the go. People would come in and be like ‘who’s this guy in the office over there?’ And now people can have a better idea of who I am.”
Back in his days as a student at Albertus, Kobéy’s biggest influence on campus was Career Services Director Patrick Clifford. It was this relationship that led him to the path of entrepreneurship.
“If I hadn’t met him [Patrick] I probably wouldn’t be here right now. He was the one who took a gamble on me when I didn’t really know what was going on. His Career and Professional Development Strategies class helped me land my internship.”
That internship was a trip to the the Entrepreneurship Leadership Academy (ELA) in Hungary. Kobéy made strong connections with professional leaders at ELA, exposing him to opportunities within entrepreneurialism, and pitch his own ideas to a mock panel.
He was the first person from Albertus to go, surrounded by people from all over the world, and from Connecticut, including Quinnipiac University and UConn.
“It was competitive. There were so many smart people. We all worked on our own ideas. It was an eye-opening experience.”
Back home, Kobéy notes that there are so many entrepreneurs on the Albertus campus and in our own backyard, and he is shining the spotlight on them through his podcast.
“There are so many creative people here [at Albertus], whether you’re art therapy, graphic design, communications, and more, who are looking for outlets like this. I was looking for this as a student and we didn’t have it yet. Now that we do have the resources, I think it’s so important for me to share it with them [the students] because that’s the experiential learning that we preach.”
Kobéy wants this podcast to inspire those beyond the walls of Albertus, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen ties with the community.
“There may be kids within Newhallville that have genius-level talent who unfortunately don’t know about college. They don’t know there’s a center for entrepreneurship right up the street. It’s essential to bring awareness to the resources that they have.”
Kobéy’s entrepreneurial endeavors exist in his free time as well. On August 27th, he participated in New Haven’s Inaugural Black Wall Street Festival in Temple Plaza.
He had the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs while bringing awareness to his brand. He sold bracelets with positive messaging, such as ‘winner’ or ‘blessings.’
His biggest advice for students who want to embark on an entrepreneurial journey? Just be bold.
“Be bold enough and brave enough to believe in yourself. Once you get that down, learn to network. There are a lot of free resources. Don’t underestimate your local libraries to find these resources. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and never stop learning.”
Learn more about the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and listen to the first episode of the Albertus Innovates Podcast featuring Professor William Aniskovich here.
Kobéy wishes to give special thanks to the Communications and Marketing Department, specifically Albertus Media Communications Specialist Sarah Barr for her media training, and to Strategic Communications Manager Robert DiGioia for designing the Albertus Innovates logo.