08/ 17/ 2004
Congratulations to the 221 recipients of the second annual NFIB Free Enterprise Scholars Awards, a scholarship program sponsored by the NFIB Education Foundation to set future small-business owners on the path to entrepreneurship. The graduating high-school seniors will receive $1,000 in tuition assistance. Thanks to major sponsors like Visa USA, NFIB was able to more than double the number of awards it gave last year. Visa donated $100,000 in scholarship money, including a special $10,000 “Youth Entrepreneur of the Year” award (read more about winner Matthew Schuster below). A quick look at these winners, and you’ll know that Main Street business is in good hands for years to come. Learn a bit more about just three of the many outstanding students:
NFIB/Visa Youth Entrepreneur of the Year
Matt Schuster
Matt’s Music Machine, Hampton Cove, Ala.
Noteworthy: Matt began hiring out his disc jockey services for neighborhood birthday parties at the age of 9. Nine years later, his disc jockey business has more than $110,000 in assets with over 180 customers in five states, and even a diesel truck for movement and storage. “What started as a small DJ business now has the potential to grow into one of the largest production companies in the Southeast,” he says. Matt’s principal is one of his biggest fans. When construction plans were being discussed for a new high school, Dr. Harris always asked Matt to sit in on meetings with architects and engineers when discussing the auditorium and fine arts center.
Whitney Caprice Megale
Caprice’s Gourmet Foods, Boise, Idaho
Recipe for success: Five years ago, Whitney was at the grocery store with her dad when she decided to start her own business distributing unique, quality products to local specialty stores. Today, her business has grossed $50,000. “I want to be the tool that chisels away the preconceived notions of my seniors and slowly raises the standard for the young,” she says.
Paul Wilson
Study Success, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Molding minds: Paul knows how to be successful in school. So a few years ago, he teamed up with a friend to teach others. A few weeks before the school year begins, Paul and his friend conduct week-long workshops for incoming junior-high students, teaching them to be organized, engaged and goal-oriented. “Although the students are somewhat quiet and nervous at our first meeting, I know that at the end of the week, they will leave with increased confidence,” he says.
NFIB/Visa USA Free Enterprise Scholars Award $10,000
Matthew Schuster
NFIB Free Enterprise
Scholars Awards
Emily Adelman
Hans Anderson
Kelly Armer
Christopher Armstrong
Jessi Barnes
Al Barrentine
Jason Battista
David Bawks
Stephanie Beach
Christopher Beesley
Luke Bennett
Blake Bobinmyer
Michael Breidenbach
Andrew Brueggeman
Brett Butler
Guy Capra
Ashli Care
Douglas Carmichael
Cindy Chou
Gregory Claus
Maggie Cobb
Steven Conde
Catherine Cotter
Elizabeth Crouch
Amy Dannemiller
Isaac Delongchamp
Joshua Dickerson
Nicholas DiPaola
Mary Dolan
Anna Everitt
Rajaee Fatihah
Zachary Ferrara
Tyson Fetzer
Christopher Fry
Nicholas Fugitt
Cong Geng
Jonathan Glowacki
Whitney Godby
Ana Gustafson
Caroline Hall
Patrick Harper
Caitlin Heidemann
Emily Henderson
Kent Herriman
Dylan Herx
Eric Heumann
Andrew Holt
Elizabeth Homerosky
Matthew Houser
Jenny Isabell
Katelyn Johnson
Neil Kathuria
Stacy Knuth
Leslie Kurzinski
Kory Leesman
Lee Legleiter
Anna Levy
Aaron Link
Dante Love
Anna Malkova
Ryan Manges
Zhaolun (Alan) Meng
Hannah Moser
Alex Moss
Melissa Norris
Lenay Olsen
Sarah Park
Erica Parkhill
Laura Pennington
Haley Pinder
Kyle Prier
Daniel Roach
Paul Sanchez
Joshua Schoenfelder
Lisa Schwausch
Emily Schwoerer
Micah Simpson
Shannon Smith
Richard Spoentgen
Jeffrey Starkey
Jacob Stewart
Maryann Swift
Matthew Ternus
Matthew Terrell
Kathleen Thurber
Ilya Trakhtenberg
Justin Vandenplas
Jason Watt
Joseph Weiler
Katie Werner
Linsdey Witmer
Byron Wong
Andrew Yu
Margo Zenk
Mark Zimmer
NFIB/El Pomar
Free Enterprise Scholars Awards
James Barnhart
Kari Coffey
Jeremiah Curtis
Elizabeth Dollar
Inbar Hanouna
Sara Heydlauff
Anselma Lopez
Larissa Mitro
Alexandra Rocheleau
Jason Winslow
NFIB/MBNA America Free Enterprise
Scholars Awards
Jeffrey Mintz
Leigh Smith
NFIB/Dell
Free Enterprise
Scholars Awards
James Breeden
Anthony Noto
The following scholarships were state-specific thanks to generous donations from local NFIB members:
NFIB/Phyllis Kennedy Free Enterprise
Scholars Award (AL)
Jordan Miller
NFIB/JK Creative
Free Enterprise Scholars Awards (IL)
Ann Breckenkamp
Erin Jacobson
NFIB/Illinois Leadership Council Free Enterprise Scholars Award (IL)
Timothy Scanlin
NFIB/Edward J. Bowman
Free Enterprise Scholars Award (IN)
Matt Bare
NFIB/Charlie Runser Free Enterprise Scholars Award (MO)
Samantha Hill
NFIB/Daniel Mirto
Free Enterprise Scholars Award (OH)
Mathew Warholic
NFIB/Jim and Mim Herr Free Enterprise Scholars Awards (PA)
Dimitry Cohen
Laura Diana
Lauren Waltz
Marlin Weaver
Brandon Wolff
NFIB/Thomas & Fay Sincavage
Free Enterprise
Scholars Award (PA)
Mark Peters
NFIB/Stephen S. Stack Free Enterprise Scholars Award (PA)
Patrick Smith
NFIB/South Dakota Leadership Council Free Enterprise Scholars Award (SD)
Noah Sanderson
NFIB/Tennessee Leadership Council Free Enterprise Scholars Award (TN)
Jenny Day
To learn more about what NFIB is doing for the future of Main Street, go to http://www.NFIB.com/education.
