Student Profile - Chris Carter

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E CITY Student Wins National Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award!

We congratulate Chris Carter for being selected a Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner, by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).

 NFTE is E CITY’s “parent” organization and is based in New York City.  It is the source of E CITY’s curriculum and the provider of program design consultation.  Each year, NFTE solicits applications and business plans from students around the world who have studied under the NFTEcurriculum- which

Chris Carter at the BizCamp

means  students in 45 states and 16 countries!  Chris Carter was one of 20 student winners for 2005.  He is the second winner from Cleveland, joining E CITY alumnus, Crystal Ramos, who won the award last year.  Chris will receive a cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip to New York City with a guest.  There, he will attend NFTE’s annual Salute to the Entrepreneurial Spirit dinner and recognition ceremony, and he’ll enjoy several evenings in the Marriot Marquis on Times Square.  E CITY staff will travel with Chris (and stay in the cheap hotel down the street) and will attend NFTE’s Partner Retreat during their stay.

Chris, a junior at Trinity High School, is a graduate of E CITY’s Summer 2004 BizCamp.  He is also a graduate of Microsystems Academy- a program taught by the nonprofit, Ohio MEMS Association.  The academy was created to introduce young people to the growing science and business of MEMS (micro-electrical-mechanical systems).  It was through his attendance at the academy and his mentoring relationship with Colin Drummond, President of Ohio MEMS, that Chris and two other students came up with the idea for TUBA Group.  TUBA (Three Unique Business Associates) was started in order to bring together parties within the MEMS industry, and help them get their products to market faster.  Through an online service, these young entrepreneurs hope to match up MEMS producers with companies that own the technology for packaging the micro-sized products.  It was the business plan for TUBA Group that made Chris a winner, in the eyes of NFTE.

Chris catching up with his former E CITY Teacher, Dell, in NYC at the NFTE Awards dinner

Although the technology and Chris’ business plan are both very sophisticated, it was Chris’ voice mail message to E CITY founder, John Zitzner, that reminded us how youthful he is:  “Mr. Z!  Mr. Z!  I just got a phone call from NFTE!  I WON, I WON!!  How cool is that?”

Very cool, indeed.