Posted by Maureen Petron – When I was in high school, I made money by babysitting. I felt wealthy if I could snag 3 after-school gigs along with one weekend night of sitting.
The 2010 NASE Future Entrepreneur has bigger goals than that. And he’s been making them happen since he was 13.
Zachary Gosling of Denver, Pa., was just barely a teenager when he starting building an online auction website that would be supported by advertising and sponsorships, rather than by the big fees charged by giant auction site eBay. The result is Gozbay.com. Today GozBay has hundreds of stores, tens of thousands of auctions and more than 400,000 page views a day.
While building GozBay, Zach also created websites for local companies, served as Pennsylvania state president of FBLA and maintained a 3.6 grade point average. He made time to participate in volunteer activities with organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. And last year he served as the online chair for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
Zach’s creativity, hard work and perseverance contributed to his selection as the NASE Future Entrepreneur for 2010.
As the NASE Future Entrepreneur, Gosling receives a college scholarship worth up to $24,000.
Zach with his parents and brother.
He receives $12,000 in the first year and can renew the scholarship for $4,000 in each of the next three years by meeting academic standards.
I had the honor of meeting Zach, his younger brother and parents a few weeks ago when I presented him with the award on behalf of the NASE. His parents pride was apparent as the photographer and I posed Zach with the large, cardboard check representing the scholarship.
Zach only has a few weeks of his summer left, and then he’ll head to Drexel University in Philadelphia, majoring in economics and finance.
The NASE Future Entrepreneur scholarship is only one part of the NASE scholarship program. The association also awards
$4,000 scholarships to multiple students each year based on academic performance and financial need. This year, we awarded 20 such scholarships.
Think your son or daughter could be the next NASE Future Entrepreneur? Learn more about the scholarship program here. NASE Members need to log in with their Web account to access the application.
I was able to present Zach with his scholarship during the Cocalico
High School Senior Awards earlier this summer.