For the 23rd consecutive year, Lycoming College will welcome nearly 1,800 students, volunteers and guests as it hosts the 35th annual Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week. Lycoming hosts the first three sessions of PFEW from July 6-Aug. 3. The final week of the program is held at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Rising high school juniors and seniors from across Pennsylvania travel to the program, which educates students about the American free enterprise system by bringing them together with business executives from throughout the state. During the series of week-long events, student teams simulate the operation of their own company.
Keynote speakers include Robb Armstrong, syndicated cartoonist and author; Jack Chambers, of Creative Educational Concepts; Kevin Davis, president, The Davis Group; Col. Dave Hall, U.S. Air Force; Frank Kennedy, CEO, MagicBiz Inc.; Gary Morrison, president, Landon Solutions; Molly Nece, Molly Sunshine Group; and Ken Snyder, president, K. Snyder and Associates.
Lycoming and PFEW both benefit from the partnership, as the students also gain first-hand experience living on a college campus.
“Each year, we enjoy having a large group of college-bound students spend a week on our campus,” said James Spencer, vice president of admissions and financial aid at the College. “In any given year, 20 to 25 PFEW alumni will enter Lycoming as new students and take advantage of the PFEW scholarship we offer to incoming students who are graduates of the program.”
According to John Trombetta Sr., president and CEO of the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education, which offers PFEW, the 2013 class is expected to graduate 1,800 students, making it the largest program in the organization’s history.
“In order to accommodate all of our eager entrepreneurs, it will take 96 teams over the four sessions with as many dedicated volunteers, each mentoring the ‘company’ of senior ‘executives’ of an imaginary manufacturing company.”
Lycoming College is a four-year, residential liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. Its rigorous academic program, vibrant residential community and supportive faculty foster successful student outcomes. Lycoming offers 36 academic majors and is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1812 and located near the banks of the Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation. For more information, visit www.lycoming.edu.