Seniors from the Maize Virtual Preparatory School and Mother of Divine Grace Distance Learning School have been chosen for the Professor Fran Jabara Scholarship in Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University.

The winners, Gavin Dick and Erin Jacobson, will each receive $30,000 over four years to attend Wichita State.

“It is with great pride that we welcome Gavin Dick and Erin Jacobson as the newest members of the Jabara Scholarship Family,” said donor Geri Jabara.

The scholarship is one of the most prestigious at Wichita State and one of the largest entrepreneurship scholarships nationally. 

"Winning the Jabara Scholarship sends a signal to the community and other stakeholders that the recipient has an excellent academic and leadership background and even greater future potential," said Dr. Masud Chand, chair of the management department at Wichita State.. 

To qualify, a student must have a minimum ACT score of 24, a minimum high school GPA of 3.5 and declare entrepreneurship major.

In addition to their academic achievements, Jabara scholarship recipients were selected based on their entrepreneurship undertakings.  The selection committee was impressed with Gavin’s two online businesses that he created while in High School and with Erin’s award-winning participation in multiple innovation and entrepreneurship competitions.

The scholarship is named for the late Fran Jabara, who served on the Wichita State faculty for 40 years. He was dean of the College of Business Administration for seven years and founded the Center for Entrepreneurship. He received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and the President’s Medal in 2002.

Gavin is a Wichita native and Maize school district graduate. He is planning to major in entrepreneurship with either a double major or a minor in marketing. 

Gavin already has experience in the workforce as a Marketing Coordinator for Atlast CFO and as a website developer on the side. This is all in addition to his community service with the local Food Bank and delivering sack lunches to shelters with his Youth Group.

When asked about his future at WSU he said “Entrepreneurship seems to be my calling. I’m looking forward to attending Wichita State,” he said.

Erin is from Leawood, Kansas and attended Mother of Divine Grace Distance Learning School for her entire school career. She’s also taken classes at Johnson County Community College and Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies. 

She’s plans to study entrepreneurship to further her passion for helping people, especially in the areas of self-care and suicide prevention. 

“I'm excited to use Wichita State’s GoCreate and E-Launch training to further the development of my products,” she said.