Shippensburg University launches student-made online marketplace for entrepreneurs

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Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook may be an exceptional story, but he’s far from the only entrepreneur who got their start in college. At Pennsylvania’s Shippensburg University, students and faculty are fostering a space for business ideation, incubation and marketing, most recently through their upcoming Student-Made Store.
Launching this fall, Student-Made Shippensburg will be an online platform designed to market and sell student-created products. It’s an extension of the national Student-Made Store program that has built marketplaces at schools like Boston University, Georgia State and Loyola University Maryland.
Robin Burtner, director of the Shippensburg University Small Business Development Center and interim director of the Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation, first discovered Student-Made through the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers and immediately worked to bring it to her home campus.

“I began following their work and was impressed by how intentionally they elevate creative entrepreneurship on campuses,” said Burtner. “We are seeing a powerful resurgence in creative entrepreneurship, an area that has often been overshadowed by the dominant focus on tech ventures.”

Through her work on campus, Burtner sees firsthand students’ interest in creative industries. Even at the state level, Penn. has recognized this growth with the newly rebranded Creative Industries office (operating under the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts), even providing funding opportunities for entrepreneurs in the field. “I love that Student-Made brings creativity back to the forefront for students, because creativity is what sparks innovation,” said Burtner.

Diana Gurecka, a senior criminal justice major at Shippensburg, joined her campus’ Student-Made program to sell her own brand of handmade apparel accessories for pets and people dubbed Hudas Creations.

Since 2024, she’s expanded her product line to include hair scrunchies, claw clips, dog bandanas and a special line of organic, healthy dog treats, just to name a few. “I produced my first products for sale in my dorm room,” said Gurecka. “Five months later, I turned this dream into a reality and launched my business.”

With Student-Made Shippensburg, Gurecka has the resources needed to start and grow an online business, including marketing guidance and opportunities to sell in local markets. The online marketplace, she said, will “expand my customer base and allow me to increase my product selection, ship products nationwide and provide a better service for all my customers.”

For Lindsay Reeth, co-founder and CEO of the broader Student-Made organization, Shippensburg was a logical next locale. “It’s clear that Shippensburg has a strong sense of community and a deep commitment to student success and experiential learning, which makes it the perfect place for our program to thrive,” she said in a release.
In addition to the entrepreneurial experience for creators, the online Student-Made Store will give students leadership opportunities through manager positions. Every Student-Made branch is run by a team of six student managers who handle on-campus operations as well as the website, marketing, events and partnerships, finance and strategy and community engagement. “This is built to be an experience where you learn by doing, think strategically and work collaboratively in a start-up like environment,” according to the student manager job description.

The Student-Made Store, supported by funding from PA Creative Industries and Shippensburg University Foundation, is just the latest extension in a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem at Shippensburg. For example, the Mr. and Mrs. Milton K. Morgan III Makerspace offers a creative space for business experimentation and collaboration. Equipped with a computer lab and manufacturing equipment like a 3D printer, power tools and sewing machines, the community has direct access to a sandbox environment designed to produce entrepreneurial solutions with legs.

Shippensburg president Charles Patterson recognizes the creativity and drive the university’s students display. “Through the Diller Center, Makerspace and now the Student-Made Shippensburg, students can cultivate their ideas, talents and skills, and turn them into profitable business ventures,” he said in a release.
For Burtner, entrepreneurship isn’t limited to one discipline, and this program reflects that. “I envision more student-led pop-up shops, permanent retail spaces on campus and alumni purchasing products as a way to support and encourage the next generation,” she said.
Student-Made, she added, has the power to bring together all parts of campus, regardless of major or department, around a shared purpose of supporting students who are creating, building and learning.
“That kind of learning simply can’t be replicated in a textbook,” said Burtner. “And the impact extends well beyond campus, engaging alumni, parents, and other stakeholders in supporting our students and strengthening the future of small business ownership.”