YEPS – The International Youth Entrepreneurship Scholarship Competition

Community leaders and supporters gathered to congratulate participants and winners of this year’s International Youth Entrepreneurship Scholarship competition on April 27, 2013, www.futureboss.org.

During the closing ceremony these three winning high school students were awarded a scholarship from $250 to $1,000 and an iPad.

Winners of the International Youth Entrepreneurship Competition

	1st place Bethany Shedrick, High Tech High
	2nd place Lauren Benites, Sweetwater High
	3rd place Stefanie Tellez, Otay Ranch High

More than 100 applications were submitted of which 31 student were accepted to learn and compete. The intense nature of the academic classes provided a challenge for some as only 21 participants completed the course.

As an added bonus, each student who finished the competition won more than an opportunity to experience a university campus and education in entrepreneurship. Thanks to the support of title sponsor Wells Fargo Bank and Ernesto Arredondo, San Diego Area President of Wells Fargo, the 21 competing students were offered a personal mentorship from Arredondo along with interview training and access to job opportunities with Wells Fargo.

“This is a great opportunity that we hope many of our young entrepreneurs will take advantage of upon graduation.” says Miguel Vasquez, Chairman of the California Foundation Fund.

As part of Wells Fargo’s ongoing support of team members’ career development, Wells Fargo offers tuition reimbursement to eligible regular and part-time employees. This benefit includes tuition reimbursement of $5,000 for regular team members and $2,500 for part-time team members. In 2012, the tuition reimbursement program helped more than 8,000 eligible team members subsidize their education costs toward career-related classes and degrees totaling $25 million.

“It was a very gratifying experience serving as a judge for our future entrepreneurs and I was truly impressed by the caliber of the student’s presentations,” said Arredondo. “In an effort to help these students with their upcoming college expenses, I encourage all of them to apply for employment with Wells Fargo, as we are hiring and offer flexible schedules tailored for college students. In addition, we offer great benefits to our team members including the tuition reimbursement program.”

The young entrepreneurship program is part of the annual Financial Education Week coordinated by the Mexican Consul of San Diego, the Mayor’s office of National City, the Mayor’s office of Chula Vista, San Diego County Office of Education, Alliant International University and International Center for Trade Development. Additional supporters included San Diego Gas and Electric, Point Loma County Credit Union, ClearPoint Credit Counselors, Neighborhood National Bank, and Procopio.

“Partnering with the California Foundation Fund helps Alliant fulfill its mission of community engagement. The program prepares our next generation of leaders to build businesses and increase job opportunities in our community. They have received a great wealth of business skills and many life skills that will help them succeed in life,” says Dr. Guadalupe Corona, systemwide director at Alliant. Alliant International University hosted the three-day mini course in entrepreneurship. Five senior professors provided the knowledge students used to create and present their business plans.

About Alliant International University
Alliant International University is a WASC accredited private, non-profit university that emphasizes the practical application of theory and research to prepare students for professional careers in psychology and mental health, education, business and management, forensic studies and law. Created in 2001 by the merger of two legacy institutions, its combined institutional history in higher education dates back more than 100 years. Headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, Alliant has additional campuses in Los Angeles, Irvine, Fresno, Sacramento and Mexico City with accredited programs in Hong Kong and Tokyo. For more details, visit www.Alliant.edu.

About the California Foundation Fund
The California Foundation Fund (CAFF), is an independent non-profit corporation whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty for the State’s low-income population. CAFF’s team of executives in educational management, behavioral science, research and financial industries develop and execute a narrow set of high impact and replicable financial education programs within culturally similar communities. CAFF provides financial educators the tools and training required to deliver personal finance and business management instruction. CAFF fosters collaboration between community based organizations and education institutions to improve and track financial literacy efforts. CAFF’s current programs in financial capacity research, youth entrepreneurship and financial literacy instructor certification were created with the support and supervision of the California Financial Curriculum Council (CFCC). CFCC is a standards board created by CAFF to help expand and enhance financial literacy. For more details, visit www.cafoundationfund.org.

Media Contact:

Guadalupe R. Corona, Ed.D.
Systemwide Director, Latino Achievement Initiative
Alliant International University
(858) 635-4435