FORT SILL, Okla. -- A Fort Sill military spouse rose through the ranks of competition to win a $25,000 scholarship and the chance to help other military families with her new business venture.
Sandra Gonzales, a former Army nurse and mother of six, recently won the scholarship from the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans' Families hosted by Syracuse University.
She created a business plan to help families with home schooling via e-learning.
"We're constantly moving and it's easier to learn these programs online and it'll also prepare these kids for future careers," said Gonzales.
She's using the scholarship money to get her business, Docere eLearning Solutions LLC, off the ground. She said Docere (Latin for "to teach") is designed as a hands-on approach for children in grades kindergarten to 12th grade. There are also courses for health care organizations.
Home schooling
She said when she and her husband started their family they didn't know home-schooling was going to be part of the deal.
"You know how it is in the military. Life never goes as planned. It just worked out to be the best alternative for our family."
She has been teaching her children for eight years now and said it has created stability in their education when the military moved them from post to post. So she decided to create a program that would benefit other military families as well.
She entered the competition after going through the Boots to Business course offered by Fort Sill's Army Career and Alumni Program.
When she was chosen as one of the 10 semi-finalists she went to the EBV National Conference to present her business plan before five judges.
"It was nerve-wracking, but it was also a great experience. The judges acted as mentors for us during the question-and-answer portion. They asked us questions about our business plan, but they also provided feedback on how we could improve it and how we could do well in our market," she said.
Gonzales made it to the final round where she shared her pitch to an audience of her peers who chose her business plan as the one they would invest a hypothetical $100,000.
"It was really a rewarding experience overall," she said.
"We also offer online Latin classes primarily for homeschooled students who prefer classical studies," said Gonzales.
Gonzales expects the program to launch in January.
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