The entrepreneurial spirit of seven Texas high school students landed them college scholarships as winners of the 2010 TCU Texas Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award competition. The winners were chosen Feb. 20 from a field of 24 finalists to win one of six scholarships sponsored by BBVA Compass.  The Neeley Entrepreneurship Center (www.nec.tcu.edu) hosts TCU Young Entrepreneur Days each year to bring the state’s most impressive high school entrepreneurs to TCU to consult with successful entrepreneurs, learn about the Neeley School of Business (www.neeley.tcu.edu) and experience college life. The student finalists are interviewed by a panel of judges who select the winners.

 

 

Grand Prize winner of a  $5,000 scholarship is Jarrin Lawton, a senior at Saint Pius X Catholic High School in Stafford, TX. His business is Jarrin’s Pressure Washing Service which he founded in August 2008. His first client was Saint Nicholas Catholic Church. In 2009 he expanded his services to a car dealership, high school football stadium, private homes and commercial real estate businesses with multiple properties.  Jarrin’s marketing strategy is to identify businesses in need of service, communicate with the potential company, meet and negotiate the terms, begin work, and ensure customer satisfaction.  In just a year, Jarrin has grown to 13 employees and expanded from one pressure washing machine to five.

 

 

Winners of $1,000 scholarships were Carter Blackburn of Memorial High School, Houston; Sophie Galant from Greenhill School, Dallas; Joseph Lewis from Bellaire High School, Houston; Cody Miller and Ryan Perlman from Parish Episcopal School, Dallas; and Sohail Prasad from Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science, Denton.