AACC student business owners participated in a trade show hosted by the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute on Tuesday.

HawkTrade, which is hosted every semester, started as a student service learning project in Stephanie Goldenberg’s marketing class.

Goldenberg, the academic chair of the entrepreneurial studies department, said the event is “A learning opportunity for students. The Entrepreneurial Studies Institute provides a venue provides the marketing and some funds to bring everybody together. You know, for students to be able to sell and practice selling concepts, ideas and feedback, maybe partner together.”

Cameron Hanley, a second-year business and creative writing student, sells jewelry under the name “Cameron’s Shop.”

“I’ve been making jewelry for most of my life, but I’ve had my business since 2020,” Hanley said. “I really always liked making jewelry. My mom is a big crafter and always has been so I’ve always been crafting and then I wanted to make some extra money during the pandemic and I had been making jewelry recently and I was like, you know, I could turn this into a business and then I realized how much I loved it. So I kept doing it.”

Third-year transfer studies student Nikita Plaisance’s business “Iron Buttercup” started because “I needed gas money and two of my friends already had their own businesses and I got weirdly competitive.”

Kyle Neis, a music student said “just supporting my friends” drew him to the event.

Christopher Robinson, a first-year transfer studies student said “the diversity of the products that sold here” was the best part of the event.

The next HawkTrade will be hosted in the spring.