From a pool of more
than 583 applicants nationwide, three Ohio high school seniors were some of 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.
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.”
Roger
Geiger, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIBOhio added, “Our members
in Ohio truly get behind supporting this
program. They view these outstanding students
as the next generation of entrepreneurs who will follow in their footsteps. When they get to meet these young business owners, it offers them great hope for the
future of America.”
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.
The
Ohio winners were:
- Emma
Balunek of Chagrin Falls, who
attends Kenston High School, received an NFIB/ Daniel J. Mirto Scholarship Young Entrepreneur Award
of $2,000. Balunek’s enterprise is Emma’s Eggs. - Bailey Reinhart of New Riegel, who attends New Riegel High School, received an NFIB/
Daniel J. Mirto Scholarship Young Entrepreneur Award of $2,000. His
enterprise is Bailey Bee’s Tees. - Morlan Osgood of Loveland, who attends Loveland High School, received an NFIB/
Michael R. Bozzone Young Entrepreneur Award of $2,000. Bethany’s
enterprise is STEMs For Youth.
Donations of
NFIB members provide the funding for the Ohio YEF Scholarships. Each of these
contributions was then matched by Visa Inc. to provide a greater 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 www.nfib.com/YEA2016.
