The Summer Youth Business Academy brings young men and women from high schools in Pennsylvania and across the United States to the Edinboro University campus for five days of workshops, activities and networking events designed to introduce them to the field of business.

Academy participants gain business acumen through immersive seminars focused on team building, business strategy, management, finance, marketing, problem-solving, and financial literacy, including financial planning for college. Participants will work with high-achieving Edinboro University business students and meet with faculty from the Edinboro University School of Business, as well as regional business leaders. This year's Xavier and Tina Williams Summer Youth Business Academy is hosted by the Edinboro University School of Business and will be held at the Edinboro University campus June 11 through June 15, 2017.

The Business Academy’s culminating activity is the presentation of a business plan the participants develop throughout the week-long Academy. For the activity, the young scholars are assigned to groups and tasked with creating a product/service to solve a common problem in society and devise a plan for how to effectively build and market that product/service. Each participant assumes a role within their company (President, Vice President of Marketing, Director of Finance, etc.) and the company presents their business plans to a panel comprised of Edinboro University faculty and business leaders who then judge the presentations for an awards ceremony at the end of the program.

This is the first time a Harvey student has been selected for the Xavier and Tina Williams Summer Youth Business Academy.