Youth Entrepreneurs Ventures to Liberal

As Liberal High School begins preparations for the

2012-2013 school year, Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) is proud to announce that aspiring

entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experiences through YE’s yearlong

business education program.

“It is very exciting for us to further expand the YE curriculum into additional schools, including

Liberal ,” said Kylie Stupka, executive director of Youth Entrepreneurs. “This

program brings high school students the significant benefit of lifelong learning. It gives them the

skills necessary to succeed in business and in life.”

Currently, the Youth Entrepreneurs program is available to high school juniors and seniors in 30

high schools throughout Kansas and Missouri. YE students write business plans, participate in

classroom competitions, and work with community business leaders to enhance their business

skills for future endeavors, including entrepreneurship and higher education. The goal of the

curriculum is to stimulate economic thinking skills, encourage intelligent risk-taking, provide

practical business expertise, and instill independence and personal responsibility.

Each year an annual survey of students, teachers, parents and volunteers proves the YE

curriculum teaches the skills and fundamentals necessary to succeed in the business world. The

2011-2012 annual survey report showed 91 percent of the students surveyed reported plans to

attend a university, college, or vocational school and 66 percent reported a change in attitudes

and values because of their experiences with YE. One of the greatest demonstrations of success

for the YE program was the number of businesses started by students. This past school year,

teachers listed 116 students who started a business or will start one in the next two years.

Community support is especially important to the program. YE is currently recruiting volunteer

Business Plan Advisors (BPAs) to mentor students in the classroom. BPAs use their business

knowledge to inform and challenge YE students to think outside of their normal environment and

be more competitive and reality based. Potential volunteers can contact Kylie Boyd, Southwest

Kansas Region Manager, at (620) 640-7147 for more information.

“This is a great time for Youth Entrepreneurs as we continue to expand our footprint and

curriculum offering,” said Stupka. “We’re looking forward to working with the business

communities in Liberal as we educate the next generation of business leaders.”