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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
We empower entrepreneurial thinkers—whether you’re launching a venture, building a family business, creating social impact, or driving innovation inside an organization. Turn ideas into action.
Start your entrepreneurial journey
At Central Michigan University, the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship is more than a program—it’s where students from every major turn ideas into real impact. As Michigan’s first Department of Entrepreneurship, we’re a hub for hands-on learning, innovation, and mentorship.
Here, you’ll:
- Build an entrepreneurial mindset that sets you apart in any career path—launching ventures, shaping social missions, advancing family businesses, or driving innovation inside established companies.
- Collaborate across disciplines to create projects that matter.
- Learn from alumni, faculty, and industry leaders who’ve built their own paths.
- Gain real-world experience through workshops, hackathons, and pitch competitions.
- Compete in the New Venture Challenge, where students win up to $10,000 in cash and grants to grow their ideas.
Whether you want to start something new or transform what already exists, the Institute is your launchpad.
Take the next step!
When you’re ready to get started, stop by Grawn 164 to join the team or visit the Idea Den in Grawn 166—your space to brainstorm, build, and take the next step.
Questions?
As a youngster growing up in metropolitan Detroit, Ahmad Bajjey was terrified of thunderstorms. A first-grade teacher helped turn that fear into a passion. Soon after, he decided his dream job would be to become a chief meteorologist at a Detroit TV station.
Recently, that dream became a reality. In January, CBS News Detroit named Bajjey its chief meteorologist.
“I am honored to serve southeast Michigan and beyond,” Bajjey said. “Especially getting to cover the weather in my hometown of Dearborn.”
Bajjey’s TV career began in 2012 while he was a CMU student. He was hired by WEYI-TV in Flint when the station needed someone to fill in on weekends during a holiday break. What started as a part-time gig quickly turned into regular opportunities. Within a year, he landed a full-time position, balancing reporting on weekdays and forecasting the weather on weekends.
“I commuted to CMU from Flint on Tuesdays and Thursdays," he said. “I loved the classes and the campus.”
A promotion to morning meteorologist soon followed. Then in 2015, Bajjey graduated from CMU’s College of Science and Engineering with a degree in meteorology. Over the next six years at WEYI, Bajjey steadily climbed the ranks—first as an evening meteorologist, then as the station’s chief meteorologist.
A chance to return home
In 2022, when CBS Detroit launched newscasts for the first time in almost three decades, Bajjey jumped at the opportunity to work in his hometown TV market. He was hired as an evening meteorologist and spent nearly three years in that role before earning the chief job.
“It’s rare that this type of position opens in Detroit,” said Bajjey. “I owe thanks to so many people who helped me get here, most importantly, my wife Cassie.”
Bajjey also credits his time at CMU, where he tackled tough classroom assignments, played music with the Marching Chips, and worked at the Student Activity Center.
“There are so many meteorologists from Central who have gone on to do great things, and it’s because we really did get an education that gave us a step up in our careers,” he said. “At CMU, you get the one-on-one instruction you need when you need it.”
Now, as a chief meteorologist in his hometown, Bajjey is living out the dream he first envisioned as a young boy.
Notes: Bajjey is a 2019 recipient of the 10 Within 10 Recognition, which honors alumni within 10 years of graduation who bring distinction to CMU through work in their careers or communities. In 2019, he also helped teach Central Michigan University's first interdisciplinary broadcast meteorology course.