Empowering Each Other
Bauer Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship Mentor and Mentee Connect Through Program
Published on November 15, 2022
The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship has a network of over 500 mentors, including Ninth Generation LLC founder Catherine McIntyre, paired with Wolff Center student Zoey Barker.
“We are both in very male-dominated industries, and I’ve learned from her that you have to be strong and hold your own. Having that parallel has strengthened our connection.”
Entrepreneurship and marketing senior Zoey Barker
Entrepreneurship FOUR the Future
UH Entrepreneurship Program Ranks No. 1 in Nation for Fourth Consecutive Year
The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at Bauer College again ranks No. 1 in the annual list compiled by The Princeton Review for the fourth consecutive year. The program has ranked in the top spot in the list published in Entrepreneur a total of seven times and has ranked in the Top 10 each year since 2007.
Here, we share stories of success from students, alumni and mentors in the program.
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- Empowering Each Other: Wolff Center Mentor and Mentee Connect Through Program
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It takes a lot to be a successful entrepreneur — passion, persistence, resilience and perhaps most of all, a strong support system.
Zoey Barker, a Bauer College entrepreneurship and marketing senior who is part of the college’s #1 ranked Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, counts lifelong entrepreneur Catherine McIntyre among her professional network.
McIntyre is one of over 500 mentors for the Wolff Center, recently ranked as the nation’s top undergraduate entrepreneurship program for the fourth consecutive year by The Princeton Review.
McIntyre owns Ninth Generation LLC, a ranch that produces and sells Bonsmara cattle, and is an eighth-generation cattle rancher in Texas. She also has a long history of working in the oil and gas industry.
“Since Texas became Texas, my family has been in the ranching business,” McIntyre said. “I was taught early by my parents and other mentors I've had that you need to always work hard and work a lot to be successful.”
Barker, who is one of just 30 students selected for the current class of Wolff Center students, has just started her entrepreneurial career, founding Tyre Lyfe in early 2020. The business is a car event company that works with local shops to sponsor events like grand openings, car meets and celebrations.
As McIntyre’s mentee, Barker is gaining firsthand insight into how to navigate life as a female entrepreneur.
“We are both in very male-dominated industries, and I’ve learned from her that you have to be strong and hold your own,” Barker said. “Having that parallel has strengthened our connection. It’s two strong women, and that empowerment is a huge underlying part of our relationship.”
The Wolff Center’s robust mentorship program enables students like Barker to learn from experienced entrepreneurs. The roster of mentors includes Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winners, new business owners, Wolff Center alumni, women business owners, Silver Fox Advisors and operations managers from leading corporations.
For McIntyre, the benefits of serving as a mentor are infinite.
“Education is not just reading in the classroom but it’s part of the things you do, see and learn, and how you process them,” she said. “I hope I can instill in Zoey the lesson to be honest and to help those around you, while helping yourself so that you can continue to give back.”