New WMU summer youth camps focus on entrepreneurship, finance
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Two new Western Michigan University camps this summer will introduce high school students to the intricacies of starting a business as well as learning about the stock market, how the economy works and how to save. Both camps will be taught by WMU faculty.
About the camps
Beyond the Lemonade Stand: An Entrepreneurship Experience
June 28 and 30
This camp is for students entering grades 10 through 12 who have started a business or thought of starting a business. The camp will be held at WMU's student business accelerator, Starting Gate, 508 E. Butler Court, Kalamazoo. Camp participants will meet entrepreneurs, take tours of local companies, learn from experts and pitch business ideas.
"The entrepreneurial community in Kalamazoo is growing quickly, and we wanted to reach out to local high school students who may be thinking of taking an entrepreneurial path while in college and after college," says Lara Hobson, operations director of Starting Gate. The Haworth College of Business "has a new entrepreneurship major and minor, and with the growth in the number of Starting Gate applicants, we feel as though we can attract more students interested in becoming Broncos and pursuing their dreams of starting businesses."
The camp’s cost is $25 and includes a T-shirt, snacks and lunch both days. Space is limited to 25 participants. Register at wmich.edu/startinggate/camps by Tuesday, June 14. For more information, call Starting Gate at (269) 387-5860.
Dollars and Sense: A Finance Camp for High School Students
July 18-22
This camp is open to students who have completed grades 8 through 12. This one-week program explores more than 10 different finance topics that impact individuals and the world in general including anything from why a stock market crashes to how to save for college.
Taught by finance expert and WMU faculty member, Dr. Jim DeMello, classes will be discussion-based and fun and will include two real-world projects and a trip to Chicago to visit the stock exchanges and meet with brokers and other finance professionals. All classes will be taught in WMU’s Greenleaf Trust Trading Room, housed within the Haworth College of Business.
The fee is $100 and is sponsored by Sanford Advisory Services, so it is offered at less than one-fifth the actual cost of the camp. The camp hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except for Wednesday, July 20, when participants travel to Chicago from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Jeannine Shafer at @email or (269) 387-5726. Registration is available at wmich.edu/financecamp.
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More about WMU summer camps and programs
Campus Kids summer enrollment open | Feb. 12, 2016