DOWNEY — Downey High School senior Vincent Quigg III was recently awarded first place at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, a non-profit organization which has inspired more than 6,000 local youth to stay in school and "become CEOs of their future."

Over the course of the 2011-12 school year, 1,600 students from across Greater L.A. integrated the entrepreneurial concepts they learned from the NFTE program into a business plan. A panel of six judges scored the top three young entrepreneurs who competed June at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles.

Quigg won first place for creating "Tech World," a company that helps solve people's technology issues with a particular focus on iPhone repair. Quigg won $1,500, two Southwest Airlines tickets and an opportunity to compete in a national challenge taking place in New York this October.

Quigg will compete alongside 28 of the nation's top young entrepreneurs for additional cash prizes totaling $17,500, scholarship awards and a chance to meet the president. He was also honored as Ernst & Young's Young Entrepreneur of the Year on June 19 and will participate in USC's Exploring Entrepreneurship program this summer on a full scholarship.

********** Published: June 28, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 11