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Program at Columbia College fosters ‘entrepreneurial spirit’
columbia

Columbia College is inviting innovators, changemakers, and future leaders across the region to answer the Spring 2026 Call to the Entrepreneurial Spirit, a unique opportunity designed to cultivate creativity, applied learning, and community-centered problem solving.

Through its K–16 Educational Collaborative initiative, Columbia College is launching a series of regional SolveCC Challenges that encourage participants to identify real-world problems, imagine bold solutions, and bring their ideas to life. The initiative fosters a vibrant regional ecosystem of entrepreneurial and applied learning centered at the college. Applicants may apply to serve for one to three semesters in the Office of the President as either:

Entrepreneur-in-Residence (up to $5,000 per semester honorarium), open to experienced professionals with backgrounds in starting and sustaining organizations, innovation development, intellectual property, prototyping, funding, and scaling ventures; or

Student-Entrepreneur-in-Residence (up to $5,000 project development budget), open to currently enrolled Columbia College students interested in building entrepreneurial programming and mentoring peers.

To be considered, applicants must submit a short video entry to one of three SolveCC Challenges by February 20, 2026: Community Problem Solution Challenge, The Future of Work Challenge, or the Start Up Ignition Challenge.

Interested applicants can explore challenge details and submit their entries at www.solvecc.org by Feb. 20, 2026.

“Education is the most powerful engine for innovation and betterment,” said Dr. Chad Redwing, Interim President of Columbia College. “We highly encourage learners of all ages to transform curiosity into action and inspire others to do the same through this initiative. And if you have entrepreneurial experience, we invite you to consider helping us coach student teams through the innovation cycle as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence.”

Columbia College is a public community college in Sonora and is part of the Yosemite Community College District (YCCD), which also serves Modesto Junior College.