The Business, Accounting, and Entrepreneurship Focus Area is taught by Dr. Scott Takkus, a marketing professor at Georgetown College, and journalists from the GSPost had the pleasure of hearing from him and the scholars in his class about their experiences. For the past 26 years, Scott has taught the business focus area, as well as a general studies class, at the Governor Scholars Program (GSP). This year, his general studies is called “I’m Here to Help,” which is all about solving homelessness. The essence of his focus area class is learning that anyone can be an entrepreneur, and that business opportunities can come from anywhere. Scott shared that teaching is so special and fulfilling to him, because he is able to teach scholars how to make the most out of their money in their careers and in college.
So far, the class has taken two field trips, one to a local shop called Mantique and one to the Wellness Center on Murray’s campus. The scholars expressed they had a fun time on the trip to the “Mantique” store where they sell men’s antique clothing, hence the name. They learned about the behind the scenes of running a business and how pricing can differ from item to item.. On their trip to the Wellness Center, the scholars brainstormed ideas to bring in more revenue, such as a smoothie shop. Any trip with Scott is always filled with hilarious memories and valuable lessons.
Scott shared that he was impressed with the 2026 scholar’s interest in business, as well as the grasp they had on the basics of entrepreneurship at the beginning of the program. He was very complimentary of this year’s group, just as they were very complimentary of Scott as their teacher. The scholars expressed adoration for Scott’s passion, authenticity, jokes, and sweetness. In class, the scholars shared that they played lots of Monopoly games to learn skills like thinking on your feet, probability, and the power of investing. William Jones said that he learned valuable skills to take back home, such as “the importance of networking and seeking out internships.” Rahma Mubark also said she gained knowledge on “banking, personal finance, Roth IRAs, and 401Ks.” Overall, the words used to describe scholars’ experience in the Business focus area with Scott were all very positive, and included things like valuable, jubilant, opportunity filled, and intricate. The scholars stated the class left them with applicable life skills and a college level understanding of business to take home to their communities.
