By participating in the Youth Entrepreneurial Academy at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), students will transform ideas and passions into a viable business plan. Participants are eligible for an automatic $500 scholarship if they choose to attend NIACC following their high school graduation.
The Youth Entrepreneurial Academy (YEA) will be held June 15-19 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. In addition, if you would like to stay in the brand new student housing instead of driving back and forth, that option is available this year. The objectives are to expose students to entrepreneurship, provide students with an opportunity to apply their skills and creativity, help students understand critical thinking skills and give students another career option of being a “job creator” instead of a “job taker.” The students will receive gas cards to pay for the week’s travel from their homes. Additionally the four top business ideas will receive $500 in “seed money” for the businesses they develop during the week.
With generous financial support from the John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation this continues to be a free event for the students. YEA is now entering its 18th year of providing a unique entrepreneurial education to 25-30 individuals. The academy has been re-designed to help students launch their own businesses with a chance to earn seed money using a new curriculum called Lean Canvas.
By sharing marketing materials and application forms with high school counselors, the NIACC Pappajohn Center extended invitations to all North Iowa high school students. Applicants are asked to complete an application packet including a personal and parent recommendation followed by a student essay and interview with Pappajohn Center staff by a priority date of April 18, 2015.
