5 Illinois Students Earn NFIB Scholarships

Date: April 20, 2015

The National Federation of
Independent Business’ Young Entrepreneur Foundation today announced the
recipients of the 13th annual NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards, a
scholarship program designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents
among high school students.

“America’s young people have caught the
entrepreneurial bug, and we could not be more confident in our next generation
of business owners,” said Molly Young, director
of the Young Entrepreneur Foundation. “We are impressed year after year
with the quality of these hard-working, innovative high school students who are
making their entrepreneurial dreams happen.”

The
2015 YEF Award winners from Illinois are:

  • Benjamin Curtin, a senior at Taylorsville High School
    in Taylorsville, winner of a $1,000 NFIB/AHIP Young Entrepreneur Award.
    Benjamin owns Curtin’s Creations, a welding and sandblasting business, and
    plans to attend Purdue University.
  • Christopher North, a senior at Galva High School in
    Galva, winner of a $1,000 NFIB/Amanda and Holly Austin Young Entrepreneur
    Award. Christopher owns North Sweet Corn and plans to attend Iowa State
    University.
  • Kevin Chang, a senior at James B. Conant High School
    in Hoffman Estates, winner of a $1,000 NFIB/Lloyd E. Falconer Young
    Entrepreneur. Kevin owns Veetri Design & Development and plans to attend
    Stanford University.
  • Hunter Sneed, a senior at Geneva High School in Geneva,
    winner of a $1,000 NFIB/Steven S. Sack Young Entrepreneur Award. Hunter owns
    HAS the Geek, a technical support business, and plans to attend DePaul
    University.
  • Samuel Guenette, a senior Lane Technical College Prep
    High School in Chicago, winner of a $1,000 NFIB/Kathy and Richard Duffy Young
    Entrepreneur Award. He owns Mixie’s Cookies and plans to attend the University
    of Dayton.

“We’re pleased
we can support these young entrepreneurs,” said Kim Clarke Maisch, state
director of NFIB/Illinois, the state’s leading small-business association. “It’s
hard for anyone to start a business and keep it going, but it’s even harder
when you’re still in school.”

In addition
to recognizing these outstanding young entrepreneurs, the Young Entrepreneur
Foundation will honor five students selected as Young Entrepreneurs of the Year
Award finalists at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on July 23rd.
During the event, the winners of the “2015 NFIB Young Entrepreneur of the Year”
and “2015 NFIB Dan Danner Leadership Award” will be named and each awarded a
$15,000 scholarship. The remaining three finalists will each receive a $5000.00
scholarship.

“NFIB
congratulates this year’s winners for their tremendous accomplishments and
hopes the scholarships will assist these young entrepreneurs as they continue
on their paths towards successful futures,” Young said. 

To
qualify for an NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award, students must be seniors in high
school who own and/or operate their own small business. They are required to
write an essay describing their entrepreneurial endeavors and future goals.
NFIB members around the country interview the applicants for the Young
Entrepreneur Awards.

Related Content: Small Business News | Illinois

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