In a time when millennials are often accused of being lazy and entitled, it is heartening to see three high school students completely defy the stereotype. Juniors Luke Sanders, Ryan Rospond, and David Paris of Valparaiso High School were selected for the Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy, a five-day, high-tech focused program led by Purdue Research Foundation staff.
Every year, business and economics teacher Despina Liaskos is asked to nominate students with management and entrepreneurial skills that she believes would excel at the program. Nominees are expected to have creativity and initiative, be recognized as a leader by their peers, have the ability to work with others, and have overall academic strength. After being selected by Liaskos, the three juniors submitted a 250-word essay explaining what they expected to learn at the program.
“I nominated these students and all three got in this year which has never happened before,” Liaskos said. “That was very very exciting for me.”
Held at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus June 19-24, students will work alongside Indiana 4-H staff, Purdue faculty, industry leaders, and high-tech business entrepreneurs. Guest presenters will share their own success stories as well.
“I think I am excited mostly for being surrounded by fellow students from across Indiana and experts on entrepreneurship,” said Paris. “I’ll be able to be challenged and to compete against them. I’ll also be able to learn a little bit, and probably be a better student from this.”
During their five-day stay on campus, students are given business cases, followed by two days of instruction on how to best create their business plan. On the final day, teams will present their plan to a panel of judges. The top three teams with solid business plans with the greatest potential for success will be awarded with tuition vouchers to Purdue University.
“I am so excited for the Purdue Entrepreneurship Academy, especially due to the fact that we can get tuition vouchers for Purdue,” Rospond said. “It’s very exciting for me and my fellow colleagues. I’m also very excited to go in front of the board and show whatever business plan we come up with, which I’m sure will be great.”
On top of the opportunity for tuition vouchers, all students who complete the program receive credit toward the Entrepreneurship Certificate program offered by the university. Students are also given a tour of Purdue’s campus and Purdue Research Park, which is home to more than 200 startup businesses.
Sanders said, “I look forward to learning about a lot of business aspects by going to this program. I also look forward to finding out if I want to end up going into this field. I feel like this will be a good experience to also get a feeling of how college will be next year.”
With just a couple months until the Academy, the three students must wait anxiously for the chance to set foot on Purdue University’s campus and experience unique entrepreneurial opportunities.