Future Builders Challenge
Published on November 18, 2019
Future Builders Challenge Aimed at High School Students (11/17/2019)
Entrepreneurship is identified as a top community priority in Grow Grand Island.
The Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp. is introducing a new program that focuses on builder and entrepreneur talents in our high school students: the Grand Island Area Future Builders Challenge.
The program is a community partnership that encourages growth in entrepreneurial and business-minded high school students. This is an opportunity for students to tap into their full potential and become tomorrow’s builders.
Grounded in global Gallup research, the Builder Profile 10 (BP 10) assessment will be administered to more than 1,000 area high school sophomores where the students will learn about their propensity for innovation and entrepreneurship by taking the Gallup BP10. The assessment identifies a person’s dominant builder talents, the role that fits them best, and gives action items for applying these talents.
Understanding their builder talents and roles opens students to the endless possibilities of their skill sets and provides opportunities for them to collaborate with other like-minded students, successful professionals and educators.
Once identified through the BP10, students with extreme builder talents are then invited to participate in the Future Builders Challenge. This program allows high school students to identify their aptitudes to become entrepreneurs, innovators, and builders. Participating schools are: Grand Island Senior High, Grand Island Central Catholic, Heartland Lutheran, Aurora High School, Centura High School, St. Paul High School and Wood River High School.
The student teams will receive mentoring from local business leaders and entrepreneurs to develop a business plan. The students will participate in a pitch competition (think “Shark Tank”) where cash prizes will be awarded to the top three winning teams. The goal of the program is to provide a strengths-based program to ignite and cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset amongst local high school students, with the ultimate goal of building and growing new ventures in each local community.
Schools and community have invested in identifying and coaching those who rise to the top in academics, sports and performing arts. As we have looked at Grand Island and the surrounding areas, we realized very little has been done in the past to help identify and coach those students with high builder talent. The Grand Island Area Future Builders Challenge is a great first step in identifying those builders of ideas, businesses, and communities. I am excited to lead this program that celebrates our future builders.
Grow Grand Island has approved a grant to support the Grand Island Area Future Builders Challenge. More than $50,000 will help support the program over the next three years through teacher and counselor trainings, CCC student facilitators, and assisting with the cost of the Gallup Builder Profile 10 assessments.
For more information, contact me at (308) 381-7500 or tnettifee@grandisland.org
Tara Nettifee is with the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp. Grow Grand Island was established as a partnership involving the city, county, Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Economic Development Corp. to develop and implement an ongoing, dynamic strategic plan to guide community growth and prosperity.
