April 20, 2020— Kentucky's Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE), a competitive summer program where Kentucky teens focus on product innovation and business model design, announced students selected for its summer program 2020 GSE program.

Seventy two high school students across the Commonwealth were selected to join the 2020 Summer Program on NKU's campus., which runs from July 12 - August 1, 2020. More than 300 high school students applied to participate, and each of the selected students will receive full tuition scholarship opportunities.

“While COVID-19 has brought new challenges for all of us, as entrepreneurs we love challenges,” said Natasha Sams, GSE’s executive director. “We know that entrepreneurs are needed now more than ever before but above everything, we value the safety and well-being of our students. In the coming weeks, we will have a clearer idea of what GSE will look like this summer and we already have modified our dates in hopes of having an in-person summer experience.”

GSE brings students from across the state into a three-week residential program, immerses them in a creative space and equips them with the tools needed to unleash their innate entrepreneurial spirits for the betterment of Kentucky. During the program, teams of high school students develop a business model, design a prototype and pitch their startup to a large audience and 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. Several GSE alums subsequently launched their own small businesses in Kentucky.

This will be the second year NKU has hosted GSE's summer program. The partnership targets the high school and college level to cultivate talented entrepreneurs across Kentucky. The success of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, housed in the Haile/US Bank College of Business, helped to lay the groundwork for this partnership. NKU’s innovative, transdisciplinary academic experience complements GSE's entrepreneurial experience. 

Through partnerships with collegiate partners, GSE provides more than $2.7 million in scholarship funding opportunities to Kentucky high school students each year. Since 2013, more than 350 student entrepreneurs have received scholarship funding through the program.

Northern Kentucky GSE Students: