TRIO Upward Bound, a Department of Education funded scholarship from Eastern Gateway Community College, recently hosted a virtual entrepreneurship program that featured 16 students from Jefferson County High Schools and completed the pitch competition on the final day. First prize was a new 7th generation iPod touch. The 2021 TRIO Upward Bound Young Entrepreneur Contest winner was Justen Wargo, a senior attending Jefferson County’s Joint Vocational School, where he is part of the multimedia and design program. His home school is Edison High School. Wargo was inducted into Shawnee State University and will earn a bachelor’s degree in game and simulation arts. In December he received his third academic letter from Edison High School. The entrepreneurship program was sponsored by the Ohio Afterschool Network. TRIO Upward Bound received a $ 500 grant to participate in the program, and the funds were used to purchase the prizes awarded. The instructors for the program were Ron Emery, Senior Corps of Retired Executives, and AJ Bove, a young entrepreneur who graduated from Westminster College in 2019. Other winners besides Wargo were: Destiny Campos, second place; Lita Bennett, third place; Travis Rose, fourth place; and Riley Stine, Sarah Wagner, and Karalyne Hunter, honorable mentions. TRIO Upward Bound serves 64 low-income and / or first-generation Jefferson County high school students entering college, said Tracy Yaich, principal.
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