School to welcome high school students in 7th annual Summer Venture in Business

Ashleigh Lee, communications coordinator

LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Business will host its seventh annual Summer Venture in Business program for high school students from June 11-16.

The pre-college program gives rising 10th, 11th and 12th grade high school students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds and/or potential first-generation college students an opportunity to explore the different business school majors. Students stay on campus and get exposure to business topics, resources for applying to KU and tools to be successful in college and beyond at no cost to the participants. This is the first year the program will host students for an entire week rather than two sessions throughout the summer.

The 2023 cohort includes students from 40 high schools in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas. Represented high schools include:

Kansas

  • Bishop Seabury Academy and Free State High School in Lawrence
  • Washburn Rural High School in Topeka
  • Shawnee Heights Senior High School in Tecumseh
  • De Soto High School in De Soto
  • Basehor-Linwood High School in Basehor
  • Piper High School in Piper
  • Bishop Ward High School, Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Wyandotte High School in Kansas City
  • Blue Valley North High School, Blue Valley Northwest High School, Blue Valley West High School, Shawnee Mission North High School and Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park
  • Maranatha Academy and Mill Valley High School in Shawnee
  • Olathe East High School, Olathe North High School, Olathe Northwest High School, Olathe South High School and Olathe West High School in Olathe
  • Willard M Academy (homeschooling) in Lenexa
  • Rock Creek Junior/Senior High School in St. George
  • Manhattan High School in Manhattan
  • Derby High School in Derby
  • Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita
  • Sacred Heart Junior/Senior High School in Salina

Missouri

  • Lincoln College Preparatory Academy and University Academy Charter School in Kansas City 
  • William Chrisman High School in Independence
  • De Smet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur
  • Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights
  • Rockwood Summit High School and Lutheran High School North in St. Louis

Illinois, South Carolina and Texas

  • Belleville Township High School West in Belleville, Illinois
  • Clinton High School in Clinton, South Carolina
  • Azle High School in Azle, Texas
  • St. Paul’s Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas

Dyamond Ross, pre-collegiate program coordinator for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) at the business school, will oversee program activities, which will be conducted by KU business faculty, staff and students, along with campus partners and industry professionals. The agenda includes workshops about college and career preparedness, lectures about a selection of the school’s academic majors, company tours of KPMG in Kansas City, Missouri, and Huhtamaki in De Soto, social activities and a poster presentation.

Featured sponsors of this year’s program are the Capitol Federal Foundation, Evergy, Hallmark, KPMG, Meritrust Credit Union, Network Kansas and TIAA.

The inaugural Summer Venture in Business was held in 2017 after former KU Student Body President Stephonn Alcorn and Vice President Gabby Naylor, both of whom are KU business school graduates, introduced the program in their 2016 Student Senate coalition.

More information about Summer Venture in Business can be found at business.ku.edu/svb.