“There is a sense of ‘What goes on in there?’ “ Incubator Director Chuck Cornell said of the Dunkirk facility.

At a recent open house of the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator, some of that mystery was addressed. Beginning with a short introduction, Cornell and Project Coordinator Lauri Gawronski welcomed an audience of the public at the open house, before taking the guests on a tour of the facilities.

“It’s really become kind of a central meeting place for economic development opportunities,” Cornell said. “We’re very happy about that.”

The technology at the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator has been entirely funded by grants and donations.

Ted Sharon, an Adjunct Instructor in the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance, spoke about his experiences working with the Incubator to provide a creative space for his students. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

“There’s a lot of resources on our campus that aren’t as visible to the community, unless you come in,” Cornell said.

Faculty at the SUNY Incubator have shared a desire to foster connections with the local community, including exploring a possible partnership with Dunkirk High School to create clubs — including an entrepreneurs club — to utilize the space.

“We’re trying to make those connections that haven’t been there before,” Cornell said. “… Even though it’s a SUNY Fredonia building, it’s in your neighborhood.”

After the tour was complete, a SUNY professor and multiple students spoke to the experiences they have had because of the freedom the Incubator provides them.

Ted Sharon, an adjunct instructor in the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance, spoke about his work with the Incubator to provide a creative space for his students. Sharon shared how nearly a decade ago, he frequently traveled from Broadway in New York City back to Fredonia to work on productions. After his car broke down on a trip back, he came to the realization that he needed to stay home to do work in his own community. From then, Sharon explored the opportunities offered to him through the Incubator to create productions with SUNY Fredonia students.

SUNY Fredonia student Aidan Heaney spoke about her experience working with Main Street Studios and the SUNY Incubator. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Part of the work Sharon accomplished because of his time at the Incubator included securing grant funding to reconstruct a warehouse in downtown Fredonia to create Main Street Studios — a space for student production and other community engagement events, such as camps for area youth.

Because of the Incubator’s support of a Summer Fellowship Program, in which students are provided a stipend to continue their studies over the summer, four students stayed in the community over the summer rather than returning home. An additional 10 alumni from SUNY Fredonia have remained in the community after graduation because of the Incubator’s programs.

“I don’t think any of us would be here if not for the Incubator, I honestly don’t,” said Sharon.

Summer interns Aidan Heaney and Kristen Wielgasz then spoke about their time performing over the summer through Main Street Studios thanks to the Incubator.

“We get a real opportunity to apply everything we are learning at school and take it into a real world setting where we’re being financially compensated for the skills that we have. I think that is an incredible opportunity that is presented to us as undergrads,” said Heaney.

SUNY Fredonia student Jeremy Casso-Garcia presented his apparel brand, Bluestripss Apparel, which he used the space at the Incubator to develop. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Finally, SUNY Fredonia student Jeremy Casso-Garcia presented his apparel brand, Bluestripss Apparel, which he used the space at the Incubator to develop. Casso-Garcia created Bluestripss Apparel to honor his late brother, Gabriel Casso, who was killed as a result of gun violence in the spring of 2021.

“It stems from a really dark place in my life, but I didn’t want it to be just that. I wanted to make something come out of it,” Casso-Garcia said.

Casso-Garcia, an Afro-Latino first-generation college student from New York City, is a senior studying Business Administration at SUNY Fredonia. Casso-Garcia served as a Business Administration Intern at the Incubator.

“The opportunity here at the Incubator gave me a physical space where I can produce my product. Not only that, but it gave me an opportunity to learn how to market it correctly,” Casso-Garcia said. “Being given a physical space here at the Incubator has given me the comfortability to be myself and express myself throughout my business.”

Casso-Garcia was the winner of the Incubator’s Student Business Competition. He noted that his business has grown notably since he utilized the space at the Incubator, and that people take his business more seriously with a physical location.

“Overall, the experience is one I would recommend to any undergraduate student. It gives you a physical space to expand your creativity and the versatility of your product. It gives you a home base for your product,” said Casso-Garcia.