Murray High School Cora McConnell (sophomore) and Ali Yarali (freshman) join 200 students selected for the 2023 Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs summer program.  McConnel and Yarali are the fourth Murray High School recipients to attend GSE and join Bron Bourque, a 2018 attendee, and Ella Bryant, a 2022 recipient.

A relative newcomer on the list of Kentucky’s Governor's Schools, GSE opened to its first group of students in 2013. The three-week residential immersion program brings high school students from across the state together and equips them with the tools needed to unleash their innate entrepreneurial spirits for the betterment of Kentucky. During the program, teams of students develop a business model, design a prototype and pitch their startups to a panel of judges. GSE teaches the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of taking a business concept from the idea phase to pitching it to potential investors.

A highly competitive summer program where Kentucky high school students focus on product innovation and business model design, has announced the selection of 200 students from nearly 50 Kentucky counties for the 2023 program. Hundreds of high school students applied to be part of the GSE experience. Participants are selected through a competitive process that does not consider GPA or test scores, and the experience is free for all participants.  GSE’s uniquely designed application is structured to identify creative problem-solvers who want to roll up their sleeves and dive head first into creating something meaningful. 

While all participants gain vital entrepreneurial skills through the program to use as they enter the workplace or continue into higher education, more than 16 new businesses have been launched by GSE alumni since it started. Others have filed for multiple patents and developed new ideas and relationships that sow the seeds for more business formation. Dozens of alumni have chosen to enroll in entrepreneurial programs at Kentucky universities and attribute this decision to the inspiration they received by attending GSE in high school. Through partnerships with collegiate partners, GSE provides more than $5 million in scholarship funding opportunities to Kentucky high school students each year. GSE fosters and empowers the Commonwealth’s future business owners and community leaders, giving these teens the support they need to go from high school students to business owners.

Alumni of GSE gain access to a host of scholarship opportunities, high school class credit, and a statewide network of life long entrepreneurial support. Since 2013, more than 500 student entrepreneurs have received scholarship funding through the program.

GSE’s first session will run June 11-July 1, 2023, and the second session July 9-29, 2023, at Northern Kentucky University (NKU).Parents, educators, entrepreneurs and teens who believe grit, a growth mindset and creativity in problem solving tell as much about a young person as good grades and test scores, can learn more about the Governor’s School of Entrepreneurs at www.KentuckyGSE.com.

McConnell is the daughter of John and Heather McConnell, Murray, and Yarali is the son of Abdulrahman Yarali, Murray.

 

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