Most entrepreneurs aren’t on call on weekends after midnight, but last summer Ryan Klosterman was. At bar closing time in his hometown of Cold Spring, Minnesota, his 2000 Toyota became Ryan’s Sober Cab, providing safe rides home.

Ride-share companies are scarce in the area, says Klosterman, a double major in finance and financial planning at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He made flyers, talked to bar owners, and started taking calls. He was soon serving towns beyond Cold Spring. “Because it’s a small community, everybody knows each other, so it was nice catching up with them,” he says.

Klosterman enjoys making connections and getting out of his comfort zone. Providing affordable haircuts was his next venture. In the fall of 2019, he launched Tappa Cuts in Duluth.  At every step, he applies classroom learning and keeps his long-term goal in mind—to be a financial advisor and planner.

Receiving the John M. and Sandra L. Holten Scholarship opened up new opportunities, including being active in UMD's financial planning club. Klosterman helped bring companies to campus to connect with his peers before classes moved online.

 “The main thing it’s done is give me more time to study and be involved in school and the community,” he says of his scholarship support.