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Governor’s School for Entrepreneurship selects 72 high school students for summer program at NKU


The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE), within the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, has announced 72 high school students have been selected to participate in the 2019 GSE program at Northern Kentucky University from June 23 – July 13.

GSE brings together high school students from across Kentucky, immersing them in a creative space during a three-week residential program and arming them with the educational tools needed to unleash entrepreneurial spirits.

More than 300 high school students applied to participate in the program. This year 72 students were selected from a competitive application process to receive full tuition scholarships, marking the highest enrollment number for the program.

Through GSE, students learn firsthand about the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of beginning a business.  Teams of high school students develop business models, design prototypes, and pitch startup ideas to a large audience and panel of judges.

“Congratulations to the high school students who have been selected for this year’s Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs program,” said Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Derrick K. Ramsey. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to be immersed in a creative, real-world experience where they can develop the skills needed to develop and launch their own business. It is also a great place to learn from each other and their teachers and experience a college campus.”

Student participation in this annual entrepreneurial program has inspired more than eight new businesses throughout the Commonwealth, and actively engaged hundreds of GSE alumni in Kentucky’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs is a great source of inspiration, knowledge and real-world experience for Kentucky’s next generation of innovators,” said Brian Mefford, Executive Director of KY Innovation.

“The students selected for this year’s program should be proud and excited about the opportunity ahead of them. Their time at NKU will allow them to not only hone their entrepreneurial skills but also be practitioners who actually launch businesses. KY Innovation is committed to supporting GSE’s mission and we look forward to even more growth in the future.”

Through partnerships with collegiate partners, GSE provides more than $2.7 million in scholarship funding opportunities to Kentucky high school students each year. Since 2013, more than 350 student entrepreneurs have received scholarship funding through the program.

To learn more about GSE scholarship opportunities, visit the website.

School for Entrepreneurs Program finalists are:

Northern Region

Briana Seibert, junior at Notre Dame Academy
David Herfel, junior at Highlands High School
Isabelle Bailey, junior at Notre Dame Academy
Kate Joyce, junior at Notre Dame High School
Riley Hamm, sophomore at Beechwood High School
Lizzy Roeding, junior at Highlands High School
Madison Duvall, sophomore at Owen County High School
Megan Farney, junior at Highlands High School
Molly Bucher, junior at Highlands High School
Molly Kleier, junior at Notre Dame Academy
Phoebe Boyle, junior at Notre Dame Academy
Shabnam Tursunova, junior at Randall Cooper High School

Eastern Region

Braedon French, junior at Wolfe County High School
Cameron Gibson, sophomore at Boyd County High School
Charles Bechtel, junior at Russell High School
Greg Ou, sophomore at Madison Southern High School
Madilyn Smoot, junior at Jackson Independent High School
Staeton Sanders, junior at South Laurel High School

Central Region (Lexington to Louisville and surrounding)

Aafreen Shaik, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Aanika Garre, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Aidan Sheridan-Rabideau, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Alexis Shaffer, junior at Shelby County High School
Amelia Wilson, junior at Western Hills High School
Andrew Dunn, sophomore at Dupont Manual High School
Angelina Atieh, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Anisha Polimati, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Anneli White, a junior at Martha Layne Collins High
Austin Holt, a junior at Scott County High School
Carolyn Lawler, junior at Scott County High School
Corey Caudill, junior at Scott County High School
David Ashley, junior at Bethlehem High School
Devin Ward, junior at South Oldham High School
Elijah Buchholz, junior, homeschooled
Elinor Keck, sophomore at Western Mst Magnet High School
Ellie Hummel, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Esha Khan, junior at Elizabethtown High School
Ethan Jackson, junior at Elizabethtown High School
Ian Nation, junior at Martha Layne Collins High School
Isabel Wolter, junior at Sacred Heart Academy
James Bordeaux, sophomore at Mercer County Senior High School
John DuPlessis, sophomore at Dupont Manual High School
Jonathan Swindler, junior at Martha Layne Colins High School
Kaitlyn Brandenburg, junior at Elizabethtown High School
Kavya Koneru junior at Dupont Manual High School
Kelli Bevins, junior at Scott County High School
Khalid Rashad, sophomore at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Lakot Brenda Lakang sophomore, at Western Mst Magnet High School
Logan Farley, junior at Scott County High School
Luke Daughtery, junior at Martha Layne Collins High School
Madeline Hite, junior at Bethlehem High School
Matthew Bartholomai, junior at St. Xavier High School
Morgan Hiestand, junior at Sacred Heart Academy
Rabia Nasir, sophomore at Elizabethtown High School
Riya Shah, junior at North Oldham County High School
Sarayu Alli, junior at Dupont Manual High School
Savannah Buchholz, junior, homeschooled
Sydney Glenn, junior at Scott County High School
William Hands, junior at Lafayette High School
William Alger, sophomore at Western Mst Magnet School
Wilson Inkso, junior at Scott County High School
Zachary Wingert, sophomore at Western Mst Magnet High School
Zahra Alhelu, junior at J. Graham Brown School
 
Western Region

Cade Bleidt, junior at Trigg County High School
Devon Spande, junior at Greenwood High School
Jonathan Sills, sophomore at Marshall County High School
Kayla Murphy, junior at McCracken County High School
Kendall White, sophomore at Hancock County High School
Nicholas Martin, junior at Bowling Green High School
Parker Stoubaugh, junior at South Warren High School
Trenton Dambrowitz, junior at Greenwood High School
 

 


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