BVU Student, Kyle Auffert, Selected for Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute

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Kyle Auffert

STORM LAKE, IA (07/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Four Buena Vista University (BVU) students have been selected to participate in the annual Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute (OEI) Aug. 5-10.

They are:

* Roseanna Storbakken, a junior management/Spanish double major from Sibley

* Jacqueline Pacquette, a junior accounting/management double major, Black Diamond, Wash.

* Kyle Auffert, a junior accounting major from Clarinda

* Anthony Hunt, a junior management major from Cherokee

The alternate is Michael Boyle, a sophomore marketing/corporate mathematics double major, Perry.

They will be the sixth group of BVU students to participate in the OEI, which is held at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on West Lake Okoboji.

Dr. Joni Anderson, assistant professor of management, who will be serving on the OEI faculty for the fifth consecutive year, says, "The OEI is a unique experience that allows college students to take their classroom knowledge, skills and abilities and use them to solve current business challenges with the support and mentorship of successful business and community leaders. At OEI, students also have the opportunity to build personal and professional networks to help them achieve their individual goals." Anderson will facilitate the session on "The Fundamentals of Networking."

The institute is a joint effort of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation (Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties), the State Board of Regents, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa. BVU President Fred Moore is a member of the Corridor board of directors.

The BVU students will join young entrepreneurs from the Regents schools and Iowa Lakes Community College to earn college credit for the intense six-day academic experience. They will participate in an advanced study of entrepreneurship that will include an entrepreneurial simulation, seminars with successful entrepreneurs and business and community leaders, and networking and mentoring to enhance their understanding of entrepreneurship opportunities in Iowa.

The students will work in teams on a computer-based simulation and present their business plans to community volunteer venture capitalists to acquire capital to fuel growth for the simulated companies. During the week, they stay with host families and also participate in a community service project. The students earn 3 academic credits for participating in OEI.