Print edition: 
One winner of a prestigious scholarship wants to become a music producer, the other a benevolent landlord.
The winners of Wichita State University’s Fran Jabara scholarship in entrepreneurship are Joseph McNorton, a senior at Topeka’s Seaman High School, and Brittan Smith, a senior at Salina Central High School. The awards are worth $20,000 a year for four years.
The Jabara scholarship is one of the most prestigious at WSU and one of the largest entrepreneurship scholarships nationally.
Smith, who acts and sings both at school and in community groups, has a clear idea of where he’d like to go with his entrepreneurial training.
“I’m planning on owning my own independent record label to build a career as a musician and, when I’m more established, I really want to reach out and help people launch their careers,” he said.
The arrival of YouTube and other Internet-based distribution may be hurting major record labels, he said, but they have provided all kinds of opportunities for small independent producers of music.
McNorton, who has been involved in cross country, track, swimming, band, student council, Scholar’s Bowl and Arizona Reservation Ministries, said he’s not completely sure what kind of business he’ll eventually start, but he’s got an idea.
He’s been taking an architecture class and each day the students work on building a house for Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the year, the house will be moved from the school and installed on site for a needy family. It has given him an idea for a business.
“I had been thinking about buying older houses and using my experience in Habitat for Humanity to fix them up and rent them out to in-need families,” he said.
Applicants must have a minimum ACT score of 24, a GPA of 3.5 or better and be a declared entrepreneurship major.
The Jabara Scholarship was established in 1998 and is named for Fran Jabara, former dean of the College of Business Administration at WSU and a legend in entrepreneurism education.
Along with the financial benefits, winners also are mentored by Jabara during their stay at the university.
