Image Engelkemeyer chose her college, a small women’s school in Missouri, because it offered a major she was interested in: equestrian studies. Stephens College was one of the few schools nationally with such a program, and that sealed it. Engelkemeyer got her degree, but quickly found she wouldn’t be launching a career working with horses. Instead, she took after her father – a serial entrepreneur, she said – and started her own business. For seven years, Engelkemeyer owned and ran a gift shop offering handcrafted items before selling it and figuring she should get her MBA. She thought about starting another business, but while writing up a business plan, she took up a suggestion to teach while she was earning her degree at East Carolina University in North Carolina.