A total of 24 high school students from Southern and Eastern Kentucky have been selected by The Center for Rural Development to develop their business and entrepreneurial skills at the 2025 Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (ELI), including Whitley County’s Marissa Meadors, Knox County’s Lauren Messer and McCreary County’s Mika Reed.
ELI, an intensive one-week summer leadership program, provides hands-on learning and real-life experiences for student entrepreneurs to turn their creative, innovative ideas into a start-up business.
“We want to give students the tools and resources they need to learn business and marketing strategies, teamwork, and essential problem-solving and leadership skills,” said Lonnie Lawson, President and CEO of The Center for Rural Development. “These students are our region’s next generation of future business leaders and entrepreneurs, and we can’t wait to see the creative ideas they will bring to the table at our 2025 ELI Class.”
ELI will be held July 28 – Aug. 1 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset. The week will culminate with a Business Concept Challenge Competition, where teams will pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges. The winning team will earn a scholarship offer to Eastern Kentucky University.
The program is presented by The Center for Rural Development in partnership with the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and Amanda Kelly with Southeast Kentucky Economic Development (SKED).
For more information about ELI, please call (606) 677-6000, visit www.centertech.com, or email youth@centertech.com.
