Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in economic growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015 startups that were less than a year old created 3 million jobs. The National Small Business Associations’ 2016 Year-End Economic Report showed that small business owners were anticipating economic expansion in 2017 to increase significantly, the highest indicator reported since 2008.
“West Virginia is a very small state, and we have every problem in America, but we are small enough to be able to—if we stack our hands and have courage and have the will—solve our problems. We have to start right here and right now.”
West Virginia’s colleges and universities are not only critical for improving the state’s educational attainment and training the state’s workforce, but they are also economic drivers in their communities and the state as a whole.
Growing up in Santa Monica, CA, Jenelle Armstrong lined the walls of her bedroom with posters of military fighter jets like the F-4 Phantom and F-15 Eagle. As a young girl, she dreamed of being a pilot for the U.S. Navy.
Southern West Virginia is seeing a rebirth in entrepreneurial opportunity along the Hatfield McCoy Trail System, which has gone from 4,000 annual all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riders to more than 39,000 in its 16-year history.