JUNEAU, Alaska, April 20, 2015—An Alaska high school senior was among 100 winners nationally from a pool of more than 600 applicants competing this year for a Young Entrepreneur Foundation scholarship award from the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest and leading small-business association since 1943.
NFIB’s YEF scholarship program is 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.”
Naomi Updike of Ward Cove, who attends Ketchikan High School, was awarded an NFIB/Betty & Steve Neighbors Young Entrepreneur Award of $1,000. Updike’s enterprise is Need to Clean by Naomi Updike. She plans to attend Portland State University.
“Alaska has long been a place that supports entrepreneurs,” said Denny DeWitt, Alaska state director for NFIB. “Ms. Updike is carrying forward that proud Alaskan tradition. She and thousands of small Alaskan businesses are the economic backbone of our economy. The lessons learned by this first business will serve her well into her future and brighten Alaska’s future.”
YEF scholarships are financed by the generous donations of NFIB members and by businesses and foundations across the country. Since 2003, the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation has awarded more than 2,600 scholarships totaling $2.6 million. This year, NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation awarded $145,000 to deserving young entrepreneurs. Each award is between $1,000 and $15,000. The scholarships are used to help with tuition costs for the winners’ post-secondary education.
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.
A full list of this year’s winners, as well as past winners, is available here.
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The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization promoting the importance of small business and free enterprise to the nation’s youth. More information is available at www.NFIB.com/YEF. The Foundation is associated with the National Federation of Independent Business; NFIB is the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small- and independent-business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists send their views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system.
National Federation of Independent Business/Alaska
P.O. Box 34761
Juneau, AK 99801
907-723-6667
Twitter: @NFIB_AK
