{"id":3126,"date":"2025-12-09T18:25:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/?p=3126"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:25:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:25:53","slug":"the-latina-entrepreneur-academy-celebrates-2025-graduating-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/2025\/12\/the-latina-entrepreneur-academy-celebrates-2025-graduating-class\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latina Entrepreneur Academy Celebrates 2025 Graduating Class"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\nBy Ally Duffy — <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, December 6th<\/sup> marked the end of a chapter and a new beginning for the 2025 graduating class of the Latina Entrepreneur Academy (LEA). Gathered at the Miami Regionals Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester, graduates and families celebrated the completion of their 20-hour training that will empower and guide them to build andmaintain their own businesses. Founded in 2017 by Karla Boldery, the Latina Entrepreneur Academy has inspired and empowered 215 Latina(o) entrepreneurs and contributed over five million dollars in revenue to the local economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the agenda, the event began with Karla Boldery delivering opening remarks and providing background concerning the creation of the program. With the goal to propel and empower Latina(o) business owners, LEA focuses on providing support, resources, and expertise to the students who wish to establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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Opening and academy mission statements were delivered by the founder and host, Karla Boldery.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Following the opening statements by Boldery, speakers from the graduating class gave insight to their experience throughout the LEA program, as well as their future aspirations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Hazel Planchart, 2025 LEA graduate, speaks on the impact of the LEA.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Katherine Alarcon, 2025 LEA graduate and owner of Snubbie LLC, gives an emotional speech to fellow graduates.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Among the guests, sponsors of the LEA joined the graduates to offer their congratulations and future support as the graduates move on to the next stage of their entrepreneurship. LEA sponsors include Citywide Facility Solutions, Ohio Small Business Development Centers, First Financial Bank, SBA and Miami University. The LEA training program is free to participants due to contributions by its sponsors, providing opportunities for all members of the Latina(o) community.<\/p>\n\n\n

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David Riggs, director of Ohio SBDC at Miami University Regionals, thanking Karla Boldery after speaking to the graduating class. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After students accepted their certificates, each graduate was encouraged to speak on their current or future business plans, allowing the students to network and show pride in their ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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After accepting her certificate, a graduate speaks of how helping her husband and family was her motivation for completing the LEA training program. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Karla Boldery presenting student Vanessa Powis with her certificate. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To close the ceremony, Samantha Rangel, 2025 LEA graduate, reflected on the growth and impact of the program. With the help of two other graduates, Rangel presented Boldery with a gift of appreciation for her inspiration and support in the student\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Boldery being presented with her certification of appreciation from the graduating students.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Boldery being presented with a shirt that depicts a woman superhero in red. La chingona, the title students have given to Boldery and the writing on the t-shirt being gifted, is translated to a woman who is a \u201cbada**.\u201d<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Karla Boldery, founder and host, displaying her student appreciation certificate.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Students returned to the front of the auditorium to complete the age-old tradition of throwing their caps and bringing this chapter to an end, clearly exuding joy and excitement for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

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LEA graduating class of 2025.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As the graduation ceremony came to an end, guests were informed of food and refreshments and encouraged to visit the tables and stands that were set up by some of the graduates. The stands showcased the recent graduate\u2019s businesses and allowed opportunities for the entrepreneurs to network. Holding true to the underlying goal of the program, it allowed for further connections and the building of relationships within the Latina(o) community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Katherine Alarcon showcasing her homemade Snubbie LLC cookies.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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With options for yoga classes, massages, and beautiful amber and gold jewelry, Samanatha Rangel proudly displays Sam All Natural Stylife. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Vanessa Powis, LEA 2025 graduate, and husband proudly display their travel agency, Travel with Powis.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Latina Entrepreneur Academy is currently accepting applicants for the 2026 course. Any individual within the Latina(o) community who is interested in signing up for this course is encouraged to do so on the academy\u2019s official website. Latina Entrepreneur Academy website: https:\/\/latinaentrepreneuracademy.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2025!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ally Duffy — Saturday, December 6th marked the end of a chapter and a new beginning for the 2025 graduating class of the Latina Entrepreneur […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":9491,"featured_media":3051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-campus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}