The Razor’s Edge Shark Cage Scholars Program is a combined bachelor’s and master’s program for first-time college students interested in becoming entrepreneurs. According to NSU’s website, the program provides meaningful learning experiences inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom through curriculum created by real-world professionals. It even allows students to start and run their own businesses.
Alesa Chabbra is a sophomore double major in biology and behavioral neuroscience with a minor in entrepreneurship. She is also a dual admit student in the DO program. Her business, Shark Vault, provides a convenient way for NSU students to store their belongings for the summer months.
What interested you in the Shark Cage program and why did you apply?
A lot of people ask me why I did Shark Cage or why I am a bio major, and I think a lot of people forget that medicine is a business. It’s really important to understand both aspects as well as patient care in order to be well rounded. I [also] really like the idea of being able to open my own business on campus. A lot of other universities don’t have that opportunity.
What are some of the advantages of being a Shark Cage student?
We get to network with professionals who are really significant in their fields and have really paved the path for us. We also get to have mentors in our field. They choose someone who is closely suited to our aspirations. So, if I wanted to be a physician, I might be placed with a physician who owns their own practice. They can provide me with advice now, but also at various points in my career. My [mentor] is a gynecologist who owns her own practice.
What are your future aspirations?
I want to be a doctor, but I don’t know what kind yet. I really like working with kids, so maybe something in the pediatric field, but I am also interested in neuroscience. I still have a few more years to figure that out. After the Shark Cage [program], I am also more interested in the administrative side of medicine.
What is the most important thing you have learned through the program?
I am pretty introverted, and I keep to myself. But [the program] has allowed me to break out of my shell and really take advantage of the opportunities presented to me.
What advice do you have for students applying or in their first year of the program?
For students applying, I think the most important thing is just to be yourself. You don’t have to fit any certain mold to be an entrepreneur, and I think your differences bring diversity, which will allow for you to be a better entrepreneur and solve issues that will benefit other students. For the people who are first-year students, I think it’s important to think about the small things. They are some many things that go into opening your own business, and a lot of times you only look at the big things. You’ll notice that there are so many little things that you glaze over, and without them, you can’t have a solid or smooth opening.
What inspired your business plan?
My business is called Shark Vault, and it’s a business that stores students’ belongings for the summer months and also includes transportation and delivery to and from campus. What inspired me is that I am an out-of-state student. I’m from Chicago, and it was a problem I faced. It’s something that I noticed a lot of other students having problems with too.
Students are given a 25 square foot storage space for the summer. Not only do we store it, but they can drop [their belongings] off in May, and we will deliver it to the storage units. When they move back in August, we will bring their belongings back. It’s really convenient because [students] don’t need to go to the storage unit themselves, which for students who don’t have a car on campus is invaluable. I am open Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Sundays from 6-9 p.m. in the Commons, and students can come in and ask me any questions and put down a deposit.
