CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 19, 2016—From a pool of more than 583 applicants nationwide, a Wyoming high school senior was among the 100 winners of a Young Entrepreneur Foundation Scholarship award from the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest and leading small-business association since 1943.
She is Buyert Cheyenne of Sheridan, who attends Sheridan High School and received an NFIB/Captel Young Entrepreneur Award of $2,000. Cheyenne’s enterprise is At The Drop Of A Hat.
NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Awards are designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school students. “These young entrepreneurs are the future of small business in America,” 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.”
Ninety-five of the graduating high school seniors will receive $2,000 toward their college and university costs. Five students are in the running for the top Young Entrepreneur of the Year scholarship of $25,000 and the $15,000 Dan Danner Scholarship. The remaining three finalists will receive a $10,000 Young Entrepreneur Award. A special ceremony announcing the five will be held in Washington, D.C. on June 23.
“Every year the entrepreneurial acumen demonstrated by the applicants is amazing,” said Tony Gagliardi, NFIB’s Wyoming state director. “Young people like Ms. Cheyenne are the future of free enterprise and the future of small business.”
The Wyoming YEF Scholarship was financed by the donations of NFIB members. Each contribution was then matched by Visa Inc. to provide more reward for these deserving young entrepreneurs. Since 2003, the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation has awarded more than 2,700 scholarships totaling $2.7 million. This year, NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation awarded $270,000 to deserving young entrepreneurs. Each award is between $2,000 and $25,000. 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/Wyoming-Colorado
1580 Logan St. Suite 520
Denver, CO 80203
303-831-6099
Twitter: @NFIB_WY
