Colorado State University - Pueblo sponsors Business Academy for middle school students

PUEBLO – More than 30 area middle school students, ages 13-15, will spend three days
building their own businesses and competing against their peers as part of the Summer Business Academy (SBA) sponsored by the Hasan School of Business at Colorado State University-Pueblo, June 8-11.

CSU-Pueblo’s SBA provides middle school students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build their own businesses and compete against other teams to see how their businesses compare. According to SBA organizer Stig Jantz, participants also will visit local businesses, experience college life by living in the dorms and dining in the cafeteria, make new friends with fellow SBA participants, connect with CSU-Pueblo business students who serve as business mentors, and meet local business leaders, who volunteer as judges for the business plan competition.

Sunday’s activities begin with a program overview and personality assessment. On an action-packed Monday, participants will test their nerves on the University’s outdoor Challenge Course before splitting into venture teams to create business plans. Monday also will include a tour of Little Caesar’s Pizza and competition in the Business Olympics. Tuesday will feature a session on the Truths and Myths of attending College, tours of Texas Roadhouse and Atlas Pacific, and a swimming party. Teams will present their business plans in advance of the closing ceremonies on Wednesday at noon.

One of the few such business-school-sponsored summer camps in the nation, the SBA is subsidized by HSB, and several Pueblo-area businesses and individuals, including Little Caesars Pizza, US Bank, Gomez Financial Group, Smith Barney, Texas Roadhouse, and Atlas Pacific Engineering.

Jantz said he was uplifted by the responses of participants at the 2007 SBA, 94 percent of whom either strongly agreed or agreed that as a result of participating in the SBA, they plan to attend college.


Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.