In a time when economic recession has created a frenzied nation, competition for a job has become increasingly intense. Enter Melissa Crawford and other operators of the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation of Santa Barbara City College. Crawford, the center’s director, attended the Coleman Foundation “Elevator Grant” competition Oct. 12, where she performed a three-minute pitch on behalf of the college for the $7,500 grant. The competition took place at the 7th Annual National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Conference in Chicago.

City College was one of 10 community colleges in the U.S., and the only one in California, to win.

The Scheinfeld Center has been in operation for about three years and is already making great strides toward its goals, according to Crawford.

“We have several small businesses, non-profits, and start-ups participating in our internship program,” she says. Internship programs not only give students necessary experience in the work force but also often lead to life-long occupations and connections.

When students at colleges like Santa Barbara City graduate, they expect that their devoted work ethic and long-time dedication to education will guide them into the hands of waiting employers, but that is not always the case. America’s economy has launched the competition for a well-paying, stable job into overdrive, and it is the belief of Crawford and the Scheinfeld Center that entrepreneurship and a student’s confidence in enterprising is the key to success.

“Statistics supporting entrepreneurship education are staggering,” Crawford says.

“Ninety percent of all high school graduates plan to start their own business but don’t where to begin. The government is looking to entrepreneurs to lead the nation through the economic recovery by creating innovative businesses, which in turn will create new jobs.”

Crawford says the Obama Administration is funneling stimulus money to the states to help boost entrepreneurship programs.

“Recessions typically see a surge in entrepreneurship and innovation and many successful new companies emerge as a result,” she says.

Such businesses include Microsoft, Trader Joe’s, HP and Wikipedia.

The grant as a whole will be put toward South Coast BizConnect, a social media networking website created by the administrators of the Scheinfeld Center that provides budding entrepreneurs the information needed to start their own business and learn from local experts.