Abstract
To address the persistent problems of poverty and underrepresentation of minority and first generation college-bound students, governments, educational institutions and foundations, philanthropies, service organizations, and others are creating initiatives for these students. Over the past three years the University of La Verne's College of Business and Public Management has been conducting a community outreach program for high school students. This paper represents a two year outcome assessment of a community outreach program that targeted first-generation, low-income, and minority students from various Southern California School Districts intended to motivate students to seek college education in general and business education and entrepreneurship in particular. The outreach program was developed with a mission to overcome issues that usually restrict the college ambitions of the targeted population. Over the past two years (2007 and 2008), one hundred and eighteen high school juniors participated in a three-week business camp that introduced them to topics such as market and economics, success skills (including management, organization, creating an organization website, and presentations and job interviewing techniques), entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and business ethics.