Last update: 5:09 a.m. EDT Aug. 12, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug 12, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — When Michael Showalter’s parents asked him to earn money toward college, they had in mind an after-school job. But Michael started a small business, Giuseppe’s Italian Ice, which quickly turned a profit. He then used his business’ success story to win the McKelvey Foundation’s ( http://www.mckelveyfoundation.org) $40,000 college scholarship, awarded to student entrepreneurs.
Giuseppe’s Italian Ice operates out of pop-up tents, dishing up traditional Italian Ice to tired, thirsty fairgoers at festivals and outdoor events. Showalter buys the product from Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice ( http://italianice.net/?gclid=CJSkzIP6yZQCFRQEIwodPn4dlg) in New Jersey, where it’s manufactured according to a century-old family recipe.
“It’s healthier than most desserts, especially stuff that you find at a festival — it doesn’t have high-fructose corn syrup,” said Showalter. “Popular flavors are lemon, blue raspberry, watermelon and cherry.”
His enterprise, named after his father, began a year ago with an initial investment of $14,000. He recouped those startup costs handily, and now Giuseppe’s has eight employees, friends of Showalter’s. Operating expenses included buying two tents — Showalter has invested another $20,000 to expand his market, and next year, Giuseppe’s Italian Ice will be sold in both Ohio and Michigan.
According to Dennis Moore ( http://waterice.biz/2008/03/in-the-beginning), vice president of Little Jimmy’s, Showalter demonstrated true entrepreneurial grit, planning and executing a business that could have taken a lifetime to build, in just a matter of months.
“We have a lot of success stories,” said Moore. “But Michael’s demonstrated that hard work and business smarts can really multiply success — he’s getting two educations out of his business!”
As tuitions rise and the economy slows, enterprising students can benefit from the trend toward giving among successful entrepreneurs who are feeling philanthropic as retirement approaches. Entrepreneurial scholarships can be researched on the scholarship directory site, FastWeb.com. Colleges offering entrepreneurship majors fund scholarships as well.
Showalter graduated from high school this year, and hasn’t chosen a major yet at the University of Michigan. However, he is sure he’ll continue selling Giuseppe’s Italian Ice at festivals and fairs, right through college.
About the McKelvey Foundation
The Entrepreneurial Scholarship is offered by the McKelvey Foundation to high school students who start their own businesses or nonprofit agencies. The foundation’s founder is Andy McKelvey, who started his own first business selling eggs at age 14, and went on to found several successful businesses, the largest of which evolved into the online employment ad giant, Monster.com. The McKelvey Foundation currently supports over 600 students achieving a better future. Information can be found at mckelveyfoundation.org.
SOURCE Dennis Moore of Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice
http://italianice.net/?gclid=CJSkzIP6yZQCFRQEIwodPn4dlg

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Sam, I don’t know what to do with my life…and I think my dad thinks that Industrial Design is related to construction workers…

If you’re ever in Boston gimme a call, I’m here all summer and lacking in things to do.

The best part is that most of the suggestions I make here on my blog and in other forums lead to an outcome which is not just better for students, but better for schools too… I think it’s a pretty easy sell. Hopefully we’ll get some really good data in all these entries to help bolster my arguments.

Thanks for writing about it–stumbled you to let more people know!–and will definitely be posting about the progress / results of the scholarship! Keep it up over @ EducatedNation - sorry I haven’t pinged you all recently, but I’m still reading…!

This is such an amazing idea! The fact that you’ve safely traversed the admissions process and can now, by all rights, be done with the whole thing, makes it all the more impressive that you’re spending the time and energy to do something like this.

That’s so awesome and I’m glad to see you follow through and give back!