The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has announced the two recipients of the 2025 Professor Fran Jabara Endowed Scholarship.

This year’s winners are Wyatt Ochs, a homeschool student from Wichita, and Jennifer C. Sanchez-Reyes from Derby High School in Derby, Kansas.

They will each receive more than $32,700 spread over four years to attend WSU and major or double-major in entrepreneurship.

“The Barton School was a pioneer in offering a dedicated entrepreneurship major, and we continue to stand at the forefront of entrepreneurial education,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School of Business. “The Jabara Scholars are an integral part of this enduring legacy, poised to forge their own path in the world of innovation and business.”

The scholarship is named in honor of the late Fran Jabara, a WSU faculty member for 40 years and the founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship at WSU. In addition to serving as the dean of the College of Business Administration, Jabara was awarded the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, the President’s Medal in 2002 and was posthumously inducted into the Barton School of Business "Beyond" Hall of Fame in 2024.

The Jabara Scholarship is one of the largest of its kind nationally for entrepreneurs. To qualify, students must write an essay and have achieved at least a 24 score on their ACT, a 3.5 high school GPA and declare entrepreneurship as their major.

School: Ochs Academy (Homeschool)
GPA: 3.8
Organizations: Wichita Warriors Baseball, band leader, youth group

Do you already own a business?

“I currently own a lawn business with 50+ weekly customers and four employees. I started the business in 2019. Since then have started a woodworking business and a goose prevention business called Goos-B-Gone. My entrepreneurial goal is to take the knowledge I have learned from my current business and the knowledge I will learn at Wichita State to start a business in college and expand it after graduation.“

What does receiving the Jabara Scholarship mean to you?

“I was overjoyed. It means a lot to receive such a big scholarship, especially one specifically dedicated to entrepreneurship, which is close to my heart as a business owner. This will allow me to eliminate the worry of tuition and debt after college during my college experience. And it will give me the opportunity to be more involved with the business/entrepreneurship community and the university.“

Why WSU? Why the Barton School?

“I was initially interested in Wichita State because my dad is an alumnus who graduated with a degree in business. You could say he is the one who originally sparked my interest. Since then, I have continued to be more excited to come to Wichita State as I have begun to grow my business community. I am convinced that I can master my skills as an entrepreneur at the Barton School of Business.“

School: Derby High School
GPA: 4.15
Organizations: National Honor Society, DECA

What does receiving the Jabara Scholarship mean to you?

“Honestly, this scholarship has changed my life completely. A few days before getting the amazing news, I started to think that maybe college was going to be too expensive and I considered not attending. I was getting a little discouraged. Now that I have the opportunity to attend college as a Jabara Scholar, I will be able to focus on learning and not how I can pay for it.”

Why does entrepreneurship interest you?

“I’ve seen the struggles my family has experienced due to language barriers and lack of knowledge, and I knew I didn’t want to see my community struggle anymore. So I started my own and decided to take business courses at school. Now that I can further my education, I hope to be able to help my community achieve their business goals while also helping my own family.”

What are some of your interests?

“I own my own small jewelry business. So I spend my time designing new bracelets, taking pictures and making fun graphic designs.”

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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