West Virginia’s Young Entrepreneurs Are Role Models for Students
Teachers have a new resource for entrepreneurship education, thanks to a joint effort of the EdVenture Group, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, and the West Virginia Department of Education.
Young Entrepreneurs in Action is a video series, complete with age-appropriate lesson plans, aimed at providing West Virginia K-12 students with entrepreneurship education.
Ten West Virginia entrepreneurs under age 25 were interviewed and filmed. Those videos, housed at www.YouTube.com/TheEdVentureGroup, highlight various aspects of the entrepreneurs’ journeys and their advice to young aspiring entrepreneurs.
One of the featured entrepreneurs, Luke Nesler, said “I was pleased to have the opportunity to tell my story for students in WV. The video session and the lesson plans developed by The EdVenture Group will provide schools with resources that I did not have when I was in school here. I hope that my example and words of encouragement are meaningful to students and will encourage them to follow their dreams and become WV entrepreneurs. “
In a skills-building collaboration, most of the videos were shot by high school broadcasting programs working in concert with videographers.
Each video has four accompanying lessons, one for each grade level grouping K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The lessons are aligned with Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives as well as National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education. The videos are listed below by grade level.
Teachers are welcome to use the lessons as they are or modify for the best use in their classrooms.
Entrepreneur profiles include:
Tighe Bullock
Tighe describes Tighe Bullock Properties, LLC, the process for starting a business, and how students may begin thinking like entrepreneurs now.
John Petretich
John explains how his furniture business, Virgin Timber Lumber Company, began and how imperative relationship building is to business.
Katherine Bomkamp
Katherine describes her inspiration for the Pain Free Socket, a prosthetic device that helps alleviate phantom pain for amputees, and the various development phases for the product.
Lacy Morise
Lacy describes the process for creating Milestones and Miracles LLC, how social media has been leveraged to market the business, and the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship.
Luke Nesler
Luke explains how Impakt Marketing and Branding came to fruition and the ease with which others can realize their entrepreneurial vision in the 21st Century.
Hugo Andreini
Hugo discusses his business TMI LLC and how the support of those around him made it possible.
Nesha Sanghavi
Nesha explains how her company, University Girls Apparel, was imagined and describes her early entrepreneurial tendencies.
Ben Queen
Ben details how he shaped Ben Queen Photography into a business and the early experiences that helped build his entrepreneurial spirit.
Andrew White
Andrew describes the evolution of Andrew White Guitars and showcases his passion for crafting guitars.
Wes Davis
Wes describes how his business, Turkey Creek Poultry Farm, came into existence and his plans for the future.