On an early evening in mid-April, a small, but lively group of Entrepreneurship students, alumni, and faculty gathered, along with Sawyer Business School dean Amy Zeng, in Suffolk’s Center for Entrepreneurship. The group was celebrating the Center’s partnership with the rewards app company Fetch and thanking Fetch CEO and Founder Wes Schroll for his philanthropic support and ongoing mentorship of Suffolk students.

The partnership began two and half years ago with an email from Schroll to Center Director Chaim Letwin expressing the company’s interest in impacting their community and supporting university entrepreneurship programs. Letwin was impressed that a “wildly successful, cutting-edge company” like Fetch would seek out such a connection, and since then, he’s experienced firsthand just how deep the company’s commitment to their values of community, innovation and student empowerment go. They aren’t just talking points, says Letwin, “And, they are not limited to just Wes who started his company as a student, they are clearly part of the entire company’s DNA.”

Among the Suffolk students who have benefitted from the partnership, is Grace Walsh, Class of 2027, who came to the Sawyer Business School intending to be a finance major and didn’t see herself as an “entrepreneur,” even though many of her classmates were majoring in entrepreneurship.

Her perceptions changed when she attended a Startup Boston event and met Schroll. “He looked like a regular person, a relatable person,” said Walsh. “He made entrepreneurship feel real and accessible.” Walsh went on to enter the Fetch Design-a-Thon, and, with the support of Schroll and other members of the Fetch team, became a convert to the idea of entrepreneurship.

Over the past two and half years, Fetch has become an essential partner of the Sawyer Business School’s Center for Entrepreneurship, hosting design-a-thons, mentoring students and graduates, sponsoring summer programs, and showing students that entrepreneurship, in Walsh’s words, “isn’t just accessible—it’s often unavoidable when you’re curious and passionate.”

Schroll himself is clearly passionate not only about entrepreneurship but also about ensuring that student entrepreneurs have the opportunities and resources they need to learn, grow, and succeed. At the April 16th event, new signage marking the partnership was unveiled in the Center space at One Beacon. Dean Zeng announced, “Through Fetch’s philanthropic efforts and collaborative vision, we are able to expand resources, provide mentorship, and equip our students with the necessary tools to transform ideas into reality.”