Student Entrepreneurship: WV High School Business Plan Competition
A senior and two juniors from Buckhannon Upshur High School used abandoned tools and equipment to
make decorative pieces for homes, businesses and landscaping in their firm, Three Amigos Metalworks. That unique business idea helped Brian Carson, Leah Stankus and Natalie Thorpe win a $10,000 college scholarship in the third annual West Virginia Statewide High School Business Plan Competition on March 19 in a field of eight finalist teams.
The three students will split the $10,000 scholarship to each attend one of 10 participating West Virginia colleges and universities. The students were chosen as the top entrant in the state from a field of competitors that included 27 schools. The West Virginia Statewide High School Business Plan Competition is hosted by the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, located in the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics.
Aside from Three Amigo Metalworks, finalist teams included TekSHOES, Kyle Caruso, John Marshall High School (2nd place); Go-Chanics, McKenzie Granata and Regan Sands, Sissonville High School (3rd Place); Generation Backpack, Hannah Morgan, Westside High School; Ice-Cream Dream, Levite Severance, Hampshire Senior High School; Spencer Martial Arts Karate Academy, Kamarie and Kurt Shultis, Roane County High School; Stars, Stripes and Paws, Madison Jennings, Sissonville High School; and The Health Hut, Linda Neff, Fayette Institute of Technology.
The competition is made possible through funding from the BrickStreet Insurance Foundation and a grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Additional support is provided by Regional Education Service Agencies and the West Virginia Department of Education.