A lot of kids go to sports or recreation camps in the summer — but a program underway at Central College in Pella allows high school students to learn about leadership and being an entrepreneur. Kay Nuemann-Thomas is a vice president with the Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation which is putting on the “Business Horizons” program.

Nuemann-Thomas says this is our 28th Business Horizons program and it includes students from all over Iowa, and some from out of state. And this year they have a student from China. Nuemann-Thomas says they talk about things like developing a product, creating a marketing plan and delivering presentations to investors.

“We feel that every student can benefit from learning about what the business world is all about, what the future opportunities are in all different fields, no matter what their major is or their future plans are,” Nuemann-Thomas explains. “We as adults know our plans as 15 or 16 or 17-year-olds often changes when real life happens to us along the way.”

Nuemann-Thomas says one of the speakers for the program talked about being prepared for changes in whatever you do. “Her grandmother had told her when she was in high school ‘you will have a job that you don’t even know exists today’, and that certainly came true in her life and I think probably in most of our lives. And certainly with these students with innovation as it is today, there will be jobs available for them that don’t even exist today. So, it’s really learning about the broad spectrum of business and entrepreneurship and leadership,” according to Nuemann-Thomas.

The program features leaders from big and small businesses in the state who work with students. “In addition to 100 students, we will have about 100 volunteers on campus this week, all the way from out industry advisors to our business people who mentor the students through he week. And they’ll put in about 70, 80 hours of time this week with these students helping them succeed this week. And they are the heartbeat of our program,” Nuemann-Thomas says.

Central College is offering any student who participates in Business Horizons program and who applies and is admitted the school a minimum of $12,000 scholarship assistance. Find out more about the program at: www.businesshorizonsiowa.com