By Lindsey Storrs
Six Career Development Center students competed in the Southern Entrepreneurship Program State Competition at USM Hattiesburg on May 2, 2018. These students were regional level winners at USM Gulf Park in March.
The SEP, an outreach of The University of Southern Mississippi Center for Economic and Entrepreneurship Education, is a statewide youth initiative designed to advance innovation and entrepreneurship education in Mississippi. In its decade of existence, the SEP has provided interactive training sessions for more than 4,000 high school students, with topics including opportunity recognition, business planning, and market validation (http://news.usm.edu/article/southern-entrepreneurship-program-youth-series-set-begin-11th-year).
The competition allowed students of two divisions, concept and startup business, to compete against 18 other individuals or groups from other schools in the central and northern state regions. Janelle Johnson and Justin Rodgers (J & J Metal Works) won the Georgia Pacific Innovator Award, The First Bank Multiplier Award, and first place in the startup business division. Lindsey Storrs and Janna Dutsch (Food Dash) won the USM School of Business Scholar Award and second place in the concept business division. The six students have combined total cash winnings of $3000.
Check out the news article from Southern Miss NOW