RWU junior one of Changemaker Fellows, runs secondary ticket purchasing website

AMANDA CALDERON, a junior at Roger Williams University, is one of nine Changemaker Fellows. / COURTESY ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY
AMANDA CALDERON, a junior at Roger Williams University, is one of nine Changemaker Fellows. / COURTESY ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY

BRISTOL – Roger Williams University junior and founder of secondary ticket purchasing website CourtsideBroker.com, Amanda Calderon, is one of nine students selected as 2016 Changemaker Fellows.

The Changemaker Fellowship is a partnership between Providence-based entrepreneurial service provider Social Enterprise Greenhouse and R.I. Commerce Corp. designed to increase awareness and opportunities for Rhode Island-based student entrepreneurs.

Calderon was selected for the fellowship because of her demonstrated leadership skills in the professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi-Nu Sigma as well as her experience serving as the advertising chair on the university’s multicultural student union, according to RWU.

A marketing major and dual web development and graphic design minor, the Morris Plains, N.J., native was interested in entrepreneurship from an early age.

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In an interview with the university’s internal news website Pretty Darn Quick she said she started her business, beaded jewelry, at age 12 and her interest grew from there.

When she made her first sale on Etsy, she said: “I couldn’t believe it – someone actually wanted to buy something I made – and that just got me excited.”

Calderon’s NBA-themed blog she wrote at 16 years old did so well she was able to make a profit selling advertising space.

Her latest venture, CourtsideBroker.com, was inspired by the high ticket prices she paid to see her favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Now, she explained, she purchases season tickets and sells the tickets she doesn’t use at a slight increase.

A purchase this large, “was the biggest investment I ever made,” she said. “It was a lot of risk and there was no guarantee I would make money … But in my first year I was able to net a 25 percent profit and still go to nine games. It’s become my wheelhouse.”

Calderon said she sees the Changemaker Fellowship as an opportunity to increase awareness of and interest in entrepreneurship across the Roger Williams campus and involve local startup businesses in her efforts.

She said: “The fact that there’s all of this talent in Rhode Island, and you have access to so much of it because it’s a small state, makes me excited.”

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