Seniors from Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Andover Central High School have been chosen for the Professor Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University.
The winners, Andrea Hernandez and Peyton Jensen, will each receive $25,000 over four years to attend WSU.
The scholarship is one of the most prestigious at WSU and one of the largest entrepreneurship scholarships nationally. To qualify, a student must have a minimum ACT score of 24, a minimum high school GPA of 3.5 and be a declared entrepreneurship major.
The scholarship is named for the late Fran Jabara, who served on the Wichita State faculty for 40 years. He was dean of the College of Business Administration for seven years and founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at WSU, the first of its kind. He received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and the President’s Medal in 2002.
Andrea Hernandez
Hernandez is president of the Spanish Club at Bishop Carroll, is a member of her school’s art club and volunteers at summer art camp.
She’s a member of her church choir, a catechist and volunteers at Lord’s Diner.
Hernandez says being an entrepreneur means becoming a leader.
"As an entrepreneur, I hope to inspire individuals to better themselves and follow what they believe in," she says. "I believe that with an education in entrepreneurship, I will be able to live out the values of honesty, ambition and working together to promote the good of others."
Peyton Jensen
Jensen is a Kansas Honors Scholar, has varsity letters in football and basketball, and took part in Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas his junior year at Andover Central High School.
He’s an active volunteer, working with Kids 4 Kids Club as an elementary school student helper, coaching junior basketball and football camps, and finds the time to mow the lawn of an ill neighbor.
"I generally would not have classified myself as the creative type up to that point," Jensen says about his experience with Youth Entrepreneurs. "But there I was forming an idea on how to start a business. The experience changed my life and proved to me that I can push myself to new limits. It also lit a path for me and helped me realize that I want to enter a profession where I can deal with business, think my own thoughts and help companies grow."