Orange : College Program to Help Budding Businessmen

Chapman College’s Summer Youth Program will be held June 23-27 for intermediate and high school students in Orange County. This program, sponsored by the Chapman Enterprise Institute, will introduce 8th-, 9th- and 10th-grade students to the economic realities of life and provide them with a better understanding of the American free enterprise system. An Entrepreneurial Fair will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 27 on the Sunken Lawn in front of Memorial Hall at the college, 333 N. Glassell St. in Orange, and will be open to the public.

Students will meet business owners who will share their enterprising experiences. Speakers will include 19-year-old Barry Minkow, an entrepreneur and author, who will speak about the carpet-cleaning business that he began when he was 15.

Other speakers include Brad Parks, chairman of the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis, who will discuss achieving success despite setbacks and disappointments, Harriet Harris, a one-time secretary who started her own development company, and J. Fernando Niebla, chief executive of Infotec Development Inc., a young aerospace company.

The program also includes a field trip to Fluidmaster Corp. of Anaheim and a visit from a member of the Los Angeles Rams and several members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Students will be divided into small groups to form a company, create a product and establish leadership and organization within their business. They will market, display and sell their product or service at the Entrepreneurial Fair. Prizes will be awarded for the highest net profit, the most unique investment and the best display and marketing efforts.