March 31, 2005
Summer Boot Camp Aims to Spur Interest in Business
Among San Antonio High School Students
AUSTIN, Texas—To help
motivate high school students to
attend college and pursue
business careers, the San Antonio
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and
the Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation have agreed to start
an entrepreneurial boot camp at
The University of Texas at
Austin’s McCombs School of
Business.
The
Young Leaders Entrepreneurial
Academy will be a two-week
program that exposes students to
the major areas of economics and
business. Thirty-six high school
students from San Antonio will
attend the inaugural academy this
summer, June 5-17.
In addition to getting a taste of
college life, attendees will
learn the basics of business
through short classes, projects
and field trips. More than 20
members of the McCombs faculty
will cover topics in corporate
and personal finance, marketing,
management, ethics and
entrepreneurship.
“One of the biggest strengths of
the academy will be its rigorous
curriculum,” said Elaine Mendoza,
chairwoman of the San Antonio
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
“The students are going to be
engaged and involved in topics
that they haven’t talked about
before. They’ll learn new
activities, and the college
experience will provide exposure
to what it’s like, which helps
take away some of the fear.”
Regina Hughes, a lecturer in the
McCombs School’s Finance
Department, will serve as program
director for the academy.
During the academic year
following the camp, participants
will gather once a month to
reinforce what they learned the
previous summer. The University
of Texas at San Antonio and The
University of Texas at Austin
will provide speakers for these
monthly meetings, which will
include a recurring focus on
college admissions.
Since all participating students
will live in San Antonio,
organizers hope they will stay in
touch and motivate each other to
apply to top-tier universities.
“We don’t want them to lose their
fire, enthusiasm, camaraderie or
momentum after leaving the camp,”
Mendoza said. “We want to keep
them thinking about it when they
go home.”
The academy is the brainchild of
Henry Cisneros, former mayor of
San Antonio and former U.S.
Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development. Cisneros believes
that Americans, and particularly
Hispanics, need to place greater
value on entrepreneurship.
The Kauffman Foundation, which
will help fund the academy, is
the country’s largest foundation
dedicated to fostering
entrepreneurship. Other sponsors
include IBC Bank of San Antonio
and the Ford Foundation.
The Young Leaders Entrepreneurial
Academy is open to San Antonio
students of all backgrounds who
are completing their junior year
of high school and are in the top
10 percent of their class with
demonstrated leadership. Those
interested in applying should
contact Angelica Valle of the San
Antonio Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce at 210-225-0462.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
