\u201cMany people think that entrepreneurs are tech bros in Silicon Valley, which I would know\u2014I\u2019m from San Francisco,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cBut really, entrepreneurs are found inside all the mom and pop shops all along Lake Street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coordinated by Macalester\u2019s Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Live It Fund works to provide students with the means to activate change they wish to see in the world. For January projects, students receive up to $2,000 and are challenged to use those funds to transform their ideas into reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re essentially asking students to imagine a future that they would like to see and to live it,\u201d said Erik Halaas, a program manager. \u201cCan you dream of what may be possible in your community, in communities locally and globally, and can you bring those things to life that you are imagining?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fitzpatrick was recently inspired to pursue her Live It Fund project while interning with the Lake Street Council. It was there, working alongside the council\u2019s program coordinator, and fellow Scot, Matt Kazinka \u201911, that she saw an opportunity to share the stories of small business owners. After receiving the green light for her project, she got to work, interviewing entrepreneurs like Trung Pham of Pham\u2019s Rice Bowl, Olivia Rodriguez of Zo Audio, Ramon Hernandez from Monkey Tattoo, and Mariam Mohamed of Hoyo Sambusa. With each conversation, she learned more about what it takes to own a business along Lake Street and how relationships and community play a starring role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I had my daughter, I realized that if I started my own business, I could take care of her better,\u201d Rodriquez told Fitzpatrick. \u201cI could bring her with me, set my own schedule, and be my own boss. I wanted to give employment to my family and my community. That\u2019s very important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stories Fitzpatrick collected also reflect the resilience Lake Street business owners have shown in recent years. From the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd in 2020, to a surge of immigration enforcement agents in late 2025, these Minneapolis entrepreneurs have learned to navigate serious hurdles, together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see the community supporting one another and amplifying the voices of those who can\u2019t speak for themselves,\u201d Anisa from Channa Kitchen said. \u201cI see the community stepping up for people like me. And as someone that\u2019s never had that before, it just feels like such a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Live It Fund project served as a powerful learning opportunity for Fitzpatrick. The senior needed to navigate language and cultural barriers, all while gaining the trust and confidence of the project participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis experience gave me the opportunity to connect with community members on a deeper level,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cI\u2019m really passionate about connecting with others\u2014that\u2019s something that brings me so much joy in life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fitzpatrick was one of several Live It Fund recipients pursuing projects around the globe in early 2026. One student traveled to Chile to lead printmaking workshops with local artists to foster better connections with nature. Another used the power of pop music to teach Romanian elementary students English. And closer to campus, another Scot developed a comprehensive website to help former Minnesota inmates access reentry services. See the full list here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter the project, the Live It Fund hopes to give Macalester students the space and structured support necessary for them to create change\u2013albeit on a tight timeline. For January projects, students have just six weeks to bring their vision to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s asking a lot of them, but it\u2019s also a great learning opportunity for them to figure out how you can activate change in a short period of time,\u201d Halaas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Fitzpatrick, who successfully completed her interviews and published a brand new website, the true product of her project is now a call to action: visit Lake Street and support immigrant-owned businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hope that people feel a sense of inspiration after hearing their stories,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cOur local immigrant-owned businesses are being hit hard right now, but we can all show up for one another and support each other.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Caroline \u2018Fitz\u2019 Fitzpatrick \u201926 created a digital story map that aims to garner support for Lake Street business owners.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":875,"featured_media":31537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[645],"class_list":["post-31535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement","tag-entrepreneurship-and-innovation","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_link_url":"","custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"","article_type":[8],"post_thumbnail_style":"default","flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_downloads":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31541,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31535\/revisions\/31541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Caroline](\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2026\/03\/20260129_CarolineFitzpatrick_kas_24_WordPress_Inline_Image_600x400.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n