Ten individuals complete Grace College Kauffman FastTrac for Spanish speakers. Photo provided by Grace College.

WINONA LAKE — Grace College School of Business recently celebrated the completion of its first Kauffman FastTrac taught in Spanish.

The seven-week program sponsored by the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and the Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development was a resounding success for the 10 participants and two instructors Dr. Rick Koontz and Dr. Alan Grossnickle, said a news release from Grace College.

“It was a learning experience for me too,” said Koontz, associate professor of information systems at Grace College. “We taught our students about business, but I also learned so much about Spanish culture,” he said.

Grossnickle and Koontz are both thrilled at the result of the class. All 10 participants are business owners. Therefore, the instruction was geared toward business best practices.

“They each had a wealth of knowledge about their particular business, but they had never received conceptual business training to make them successful,” said Koontz.

Grossnickle said, “Our students really wanted to be there, and it made the courses a lot of fun to teach.”

One participant, Jose Lara, owner of the six-year-old business Victory Painting in Warsaw, gleaned a lot from the FastTrac program.

“The professors were so helpful and the classes were such an encouragement to me. Just to be there was a blessing,” said Lara.

“FastTrac helped me ask: who is my target, what is my vision, and where do I need to go from here? In the past, I’ve been more focused on commercial jobs, and now I want to pursue more residential painting projects,” Lara said.

 Victory Painting provides paint jobs of all kinds. For more information, contact Jose Lara at 574-253-2888 or [email protected].

 Grossnickle and Koontz agreed they are committed to their students long-term.

“We really want to see our students succeed, and we will be here to support them even though the program is over. If their businesses thrive, our community thrives,” said Grossnickle.

 Kauffman FastTrac is the largest entrepreneurship foundation in the world. It equips aspiring entrepreneurs with the business skills and insights, tools, resources, and peer networks necessary to start and grow successful businesses, said the news release.

 To sign up for the next Kauffman FastTrac in Spanish starting Jan. 9, email Benjamin Navarro at [email protected]. Another FastTrac, taught in English, will meet next fall. For more information about FastTrac, visit www.fasttrac.org.