2004
Future Entrepreneur
| For Immediate Release Contact: Alex Southern Phone: 817.251.6273 |
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NATIONAL FUTURE ENTREPRENEUR AWARD ANNOUNCED |
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Dallas, August 26, 2004– The National Association for the Self-Employed has chosen 19-year-old Joy Longfellow, of Farmingdale, Maine, to receive the nation’s largest and most prestigious entrepreneurial college award, the NASE Future Entrepreneur Scholarship. The renewable, four-year, $24,000 scholarship, is also the only one of its kind that promotes the philosophy of entrepreneurship, rather than any specific field of study. Longfellow, a college sophomore, is the 10th annual recipient of the award and plans on attending Cornell University this fall, where she will study plant sciences. “I couldn’t even believe it. I thought ‘there must be some mistake.’ I couldn’t believe that there was actually a possibility that I had won,” Longfellow said upon hearing the news. “When I sent away the application, I put it in the back of my mind and tried not to think about it too much. I didn’t want to get my hopes up that I might win. I guess it worked, because when I found out I was a finalist, it was a complete shock. I was so surprised.” “Over the past decade, the NASE has given out hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to the children and dependents of our members through our two scholarship programs,” NASE President Robert Hughes said. Longfellow was valedictorian of her graduating class last year, where she carried a 4.0 GPA. She was involved in many extracurricular activities, including running track for three years, playing in both jazz and orchestral band for three years, and devoting time to her fellow teens by serving as a peer counselor and special needs volunteer. Longfellow also played soccer for three years, and was named captain of the team her junior and senior years. This outstanding young lady’s extracurricular activities weren’t strictly limited to high school projects, either. She was also a volunteer for the Special Olympics, and was a four-year member of her church’s Music Team. As if all that wasn’t enough, Longfellow did all this while, at times, working three part-time jobs. Although this may sound like a hectic pace for a teen to keep, Longfellow comes by her dedication to church, work and school honestly. Her mother and father, NASE members Walter and Pamela Longfellow, own two independent businesses of their own -- a convenience store and a diner. The Longfellow’s run both of these, while at the same time occasionally helping out by working at the family’s wholesale greenhouse. “It is very encouraging for me, as NASE President, to see how our members have passed down their hard-working American values to their children,” Hughes said. “This is why the Future Entrepreneur Scholarship program is so important. It allows us to keep the relationships with our current members, while at the same time, building all new ones with young entrepreneurs, nationwide.” Longfellow hopes to turn her green thumb and love of plants into a degree that will allow her entrepreneurial aspirations to take off. She plans on opening her own greenhouse, “Joy's Specialty Plugs,” where she will grow and distribute flowers and vegetable seedlings. “I am delighted to recognize Joy’s remarkable achievements and to honor her contributions as a horticulturalist, scholar and community volunteer,” Hughes said. |
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