Discovering Dayton

Dayton Inspires!

After the first day of classes at the Entrepreneurs Center, we began our journey of discovering Dayton, which included a fun evening at Fifth Street Brewpub on the night of "day one" for some trivia!

Trivia night for team "Tunjavena" (tuna) at Fifth Street Brewpub!

Not everyone was able to make it to trivia the first night, but everyone had fun with their host families!

Rijad chose a somewhat healthier path and worked out with Al and Marilynne doing Crossfit!

The next morning, Wednesday May 18, students arrived at The Entrepreneurs Center (TEC) for day two of classes. Today, the course focused on identifying core values for each individual. Students worked on an activity led by Renee Trimbach of Purpose Spark designed to help them identify their core values and figure out who they are and what's important to them and their future businesses.

Students sharing out with their group members about what they learned about themselves through Renee's guided activity.

After morning activities, it was time to visit another local entrepreneur. This time the students visited Real Art design company, a local design company attached to Proto BuildBar. While there, students took a tour led by Tom Mitchell of Real Art and Proto BuildBar. The students got to see some of their creative design work and the Dev Lab projects their team has been working on recently. They also had fun playing the world's largest claw game and their one of a kind Tesla vs. Edison arcade game. It's the only game in the world that electrically shocks the loser!

Tom speaks to the students about entrepreneurship.

Students had the opportunity to visit the development labs and see some of the awesome work that goes on at Real Art

The students were really excited to play the world's largest claw game, designed/built by the folks from Proto BuildBar. But would they win?

Of course Trinity won!

Another favorite was the one-of-a-kind video game: Tesla vs. Edison! The game is a Mortal Kombat style game that squares off Nikola Tesla against Thomas Edison. The loser gets shocked!

Students also had fun learning about all there is to do at Proto, including 3D Printing!

And, of course, there was some down time to relax and talk.

After the day ended, it was time to explore Dayton! The students went to the historic Oregon District, where they had the opportunity to visit local shops and establishments.

Bri beat Mateo in a game of fusbol!

In the Oregon District, the students visited Omega Music, Clash, Luna, Brim, Heart of Ohio, and many other local shops. It was a great time to explore downtown Dayton and experience some of the fun things to do in the Gem City!

Our first stop was Omega Music

Gloria found dogs to pet in every other store downtown, including Clash

After exploring downtown, it was time to head over to City Hall to meet the City Commission!

We found Sarajevo's display case in City Hall and had to get a photo!

During our visit, Commissioner Joseph found us and spoke to the students and showed them what City Hall looks like "behind the scenes."

The students got a picture with Commissioner Joseph, who helped play a huge role in making this internship possible.

Commissioner Joseph had some time before the meeting to show the students his office...

...and then Mayor Whaley stopped by to say hello!

And then she invited us back to her office!

After meeting Mayor Whaley, Commissioners Mims, Williams, and Shaw stopped by to greet the students.

Once the meeting began, I had the opportunity to stand up with Ana and address the Commission and update them on the internship exchange!

After our visit to City Hall, it was time to relax a bit and discover a bit more of Dayton. Monica Schultz, President of the Dayton Council on World Affairs, (DCOWA) was amazingly helpful in accomplishing this! She arranged for a dinner at Brixx with members of DCOWA. Also in attendance were several "locals" from Bosnia & Herzegovina who now live in Dayton. It was a great time and I want to thank Monica for her generous donation, which allowed us to have dinner together this evening!

Great conversations going on at Brixx

We had enough time at least to pose for a picture!

We weren't quite done with the evening just yet, so we introduced our friends to Warped Wing, a local brewing company, and spend the rest of the night there.

Amir (a Bosnian & Herzegovinian turned Daytonian) talks with Mateo

New friends enjoying one another's company...

At the end of the night, everyone had a great time. I can't wait until the next get-together!