Parkland CobraVenture Names Student Entrepreneur of the Year
The Pitch Contest was held on Monday, May 19
Parkland College named Shoshana Cronin as the 2025 Student Entrepreneur of the Year at the CobraVenture Pitch Showcase, hosted by the college's Entrepreneurial Network.
Cronin's online retail shop, Shoshi35, features a variety of second-hand and vintage goods. She sources much of her inventory from thrift stores, garage and estate sales. Each piece is handpicked, cleaned, and repaired where needed.
"I want to give people the opportunity to indulge in fashion and expression while exploring options that lift our community and planet up rather than creating further waste," Cronin says. "I’ve always had an interest in fashion but growing up in a time of unprecedented overconsumption and intentional obsolescence within the garment industry, retail shopping left me feeling guilty and uninspired. Many fashion enthusiasts feel similar, and there is a growing market for those looking for more ethical ways to shop."
Cronin competed against seven other students from the CobraVenture student accelerator lab on Monday, May 19. As this year's Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Cronin won $3,000 to further fund her business.
"I can't think of another time I won first place in anything," Cronin says. "I'm really excited to put this money to good use. I'm really grateful for Marc Changnon for helping me and telling me about this opportunity because otherwise I wouldn't have known about it."
The CobraVenture accelerator provides students with an avenue for networking and business mentorship. The program features a collaborative workspace, topics taught by local entrepreneurs, and one-on-one guidance with business mentors.
Parkland Community Education, the college's noncredit arm, helps plan and administer the workshops. The program operates with oversight from an advisory committee comprised of community leaders and Parkland College faculty and staff, spearheaded by Stephanie Stuart, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Innovation.
Beginning the 2025 spring semester, this year's CobraVenture cohort included students from a variety of academic programs who aspire to start their own business while still enrolled at Parkland. These students each took home a monetary award, totaling $8,500. A list of the students, their businesses, and program details can be found at parkland.edu/cobrapitch.
This year's competition judges included Madeleine Wolske, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation; Marissa Siero, director of innovation initiatives at the University of Illinois Foundation; Julie Weishar, department chair for Parkland College Fine and Applied Arts; Carter Billingsley, an attorney at Legacy Legal; and Carly McCoy-McKay, executive director of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.
CobraVenture is funded through the Parkland Foundation Entrepreneurial Founders Program and its annual Entrepreneur of the Year event.
Parkland College thanks the following businesses and individuals for supporting CobraVenture's next generation of entrepreneurs: Busey Bank; Shaw’s Premier Painting, LLC; Subwar, LLC; It’s a Wrap Automotive, LLC; KES Properties LLC; Meyer Capel; Downtown Development Group; University of Illinois Community Credit Union; Daniel Ditchfield and Steve Fiscus, Atlas Agency; Maatuka Al-Heeti Emkes LLC; and Clanin Creative, owner Scott Clanin.