Ind., Ky. students to attend inaugural New Albany Entrepreneurship Academy

NEW ALBANY, Ind. - High school students from Indiana and Kentucky will learn about fostering future economic growth as small business owners when they attend a weeklong academy June 9-14 that outlines steps in the entrepreneurial process.

The 22 students who attend the inaugural New Albany Entrepreneurship Academy will be guided by local business leaders, Purdue Research Park experts and faculty from Indiana University Southeast's School of Business as they test the viability of a business idea, identify capital needs and devise a management plan. The programming is based on a methodology called "So what? who cares? why you?®" developed by Wendy Kennedy, a technology industry executive, professor and author.

The event culminates with a business plan competition during which teams will present their capital needs and management plans to a panel of judges. Members of the winning team will receive tuition vouchers that are accepted at all Purdue University campuses and Indiana University Southeast.

            The New Albany Entrepreneurship Academy participants include:

            HOMETOWN, STATE - FIRST NAME - LAST NAME - SCHOOL

            Austin, Ind. - D'Artagnan - Engle - Austin High School

            Clarksville, Ind. - Michael - Parsons - Jeffersonville High School

            Evansville, Ind. - David - McGary - Signature School

            Evansville, Ind. - Emily - Elkins - William Henry Harrison High School

            Floyds Knobs, Ind. - Grant - Oldham - Floyd Central High School

            Georgetown, Ind. - Chris - Collier - Floyd Central High School

            Goshen, Ky. - Yonatan - Smolyar - North Oldham High School

            Greenville, Ind. - Carson - Jenkins - Floyd Central High School

            Greenwood, Ind. - Zane - Copeland - Herron High School

            Jeffersonville, Ind. - Joseph - King - Jeffersonville High School

            Jeffersonville, Ind. - Dennis - Rumpel - Jeffersonville High School

            Jeffersonville, Ind. - Maxwell - Weidekamp - Jeffersonville High School

            LaGrange, Ky. - Sheldon - Kapp - Oldham County High School

            Louisville. - Manuel - Kim - Louisville Collegiate School

            Louisville - Madelyn - Miles - North Bullitt High School

            Louisville - Oscar - Tercero - North Bullitt High School

            Mitchell, Ind. - Kaitlyn - Thompson - Mitchell High School

            New Albany, Ind. - Kasey - Fondren - Community Montessori

            Paoli, Ind. - Nikki - Ramsey - Paoli High School

            Sellersburg, Ind. - Sam - Mitchell - Christian Academy of Indiana

            Shepherdsville, Ky. - Breanna - Sherrard - North Bullitt High School

            Shepherdsville, Ky. - Myrissa - Druien - North Bullitt High School

Paul Moses, director of the Purdue Technology Center of Southeast Indiana, said the weeklong event wouldn't be possible without several key community partners.

"The Duke Energy Foundation and Velocity Indiana led the way with help from the Ogle and Blue Sky Foundations," he said. "The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County also played a key role in helping us provide this educational opportunity to the students."

About Purdue Research Park

The Purdue Research Park has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country in four locations across Indiana. The parks are home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Merrillville, Indianapolis and New Albany.

Purdue Research Park contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org