When most people talk about colleges and universities, they refer to them as institutions where tomorrow’s business leaders can be found. But some of the state’s brightest young entrepreneurs are already peddling their wares in the rolling hills of Lamoni, only 80 miles south of Des Moines. That’s where the Center for the Study of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Graceland University is becoming a hub for higher learning for young business owners.

The only four-year program of its kind in Iowa, Graceland’s center not only educates its students about the history and principles of free enterprise; it also allows them to conduct pro bono consulting for local businesses to test their ideas. In addition to offering classes and field work, the center also brings together more than 200 successful speakers, entrepreneurs, CEOs of high-profile corporations, business professionals, and high school and college students for a free entrepreneurial roundtable event in the spring that discusses economic development through new business start-ups.

Kevin Prine, faculty member and director of the center since 1996, said the program is catching on with business-minded people around the Midwest and beyond. In 1989, Graceland assembled its first Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and has continued to improve the quality of its entrepreneurial programs. In 1999, 2000 and 2002, Graceland’s SIFE team won its regional competitions and was named a finalist in the Kauffman Leadership Entreprenurship Assistance Competition in 2001 and 2002. Over the years, students have also helped start businesses in faraway places like Honduras, Nicaragua and Thailand. Thirty-five people are enrolled in the program this semester, and attendance will increase by 15 students next semester.

Two years ago the university began awarding the Sandage Gifted Iowa Entrepreneur Scholarship. The $10,000-per-year scholarship is funded by the Charles Sandage endowment. Sandage is considered by many to be the “Father of Modern Advertising Education.” He wrote the first advertising textbook and attended Graceland almost 90 years ago.

The scholarship is open to Iowa high school students who have proved their entrepreneurial skills through operating a business of their own or show great entrepreneurial potential. Prine says the three scholarship recipients, Nathan Suckow of Postville, Jesse Bolinger of Creston and Jamie Pearson of Council Bluffs, exemplify the integrity of the program and the scholarship.

“The three we have now have turned out to be invaluable students for us on campus and they have taken leadership positions in the business community off campus,” Prine said. “They are passionate about what they do, and they don’t think inside a box.”

At the age of 19, Bolinger is the second-youngest Iowan to ever to acquire a real estate license. When he was16, he started WebJOB Services, a Web design business. Bolinger sold real estate through his mother’s brokerage in Creston, but after he set up a Web site for her, he realized there was a market for his skills and established his own business.

Bolinger, who is legally blind, said he was influenced by his parents to start his own business.

“Both of them are self-employed, and after seeing what they’ve done, they gave me inspiration,” he said.

Pearson, a sophomore, spent her first year at Graceland not only in the classroom, but also working with Lamoni businesses as a consultant. Currently, she is working with Graceland’s golf coach to build a driving range at the school which will be operated by students.

“You have to look at yourself as a consumer and ask yourself what you would like to see,” she said. “My mind goes to a lot of places when I think of ideas for businesses I would like to start.”

Suckow became a professional magician at the age of 12 and had hundreds of gigs under his belts before attending college. Now he wants to take his magic to another level and integrate his talents with corporate motivational speaking.

“Magic doesn’t get the credit it deserves,” he said. “I want to take it to a new level.”

Each student said after they graduate from Graceland, they would like to stay in Iowa, but they are uncertain the state will offer the kind of jobs they desire. Enabling these and other students to stay in Iowa is another goal of the center, Prine said. The initiative comes at a time when state leaders are focusing on retaining Iowa’s youths.

“We want to keep Iowa’s best and brightest in the state, but there’s not a lot of venture capital to in Iowa to keep them,” Prine said. “Iowa hasn’t reached the point where it’s attractive for young people to stay around. It’s hard for anybody to start up their own business, but once they get out of school, it’s hard for them to take the risk to run their own business.”

To help keep Graceland’s students in southern Iowa and alleviate the risks inherent in start-up enterprises, Prine said some lenders are offering Graceland graduates no-interest loans to finance their businesses.

“We’re trying to help take the risk away and keep them close to the university, where they can receive additional support from our SIFE team,” Prine said. “If you take out as many of the roadblocks as possible, maybe we can change the trend of students leaving the state.”