SULLIVAN STUDENTS ADVANCE TO FINALS OF STATEWIDE BUSINESS COMPETITION

Two Sullivan University students are competing in this week’s final round of Idea State U, a nationally recognized business plan competition designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at the college level.

Fifty-one teams of graduate and undergraduate students from 18 Kentucky colleges and universities participated at the regional level of the 9th Annual Idea State U, a program sponsored by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development that involves students drafting a business plan for a startup company.

Brody Lever, a student in Sullivan’s National Center for Hospitality Studies, tied for first place at the regional competition held at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky. Competing against 20 other students, some of whom were MBA-level students, Lever also won the Judge’s Choice Award for his business plan for “7,” a food truck startup business. Lever currently works as a chef at the River House Restaurant and Raw Bar in Louisville.

Adrienne Thakur, who attends Sullivan’s Lexington campus, placed third in the regional competition at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Ky. She created a winning business plan for Kumari Arts, an organization dedicated to creating economic and artistic opportunities for female artists from Nepal and India.

Both students will compete in the final round of the competition on April 22 and 23 in Lexington.