2003 Northern Region Student Entrepreneur Award Winners

Omaha, NE, Nov. 17th, 2003 - Typical college students are concerned about preparing for tests, getting up for class, and making plans for the weekend. The less ordinary ones, like Andy Szatko from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, are worried about satisfying customers, keeping up with a hectic work schedule, and pondering decisions to improve business, all with the heavy load of schoolwork. Andy Szatko, along with fourteen other finalists from around the globe, was honored at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization conference in Chicago, November 6-8.

Andy graduated from UNL in May of 2003 with a degree in horticulture, with a focus on landscape design. He began Grassroots Landscaping, Inc. during his freshman year of college. Doing projects for friends and family generated more jobs through word-of-mouth advertising and being visible in the community. This past season, Andy began working with his father to offer custom carpentry, such as arbors and bridges, to his clients.

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, a two-tiered program, originated at and is run by Saint Louis University's Jefferson Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Eighteen regions including all of North America, the Caribbean, China, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden participate in the awards program. The first-place winner from each of the regions competes for first-place and a prize of $10,000. For more information about the winners and awards, visit http://www.gsea.org.