DES MOINES, Iowa – Dozens of high school students across Iowa spent some of their summer vacation back in school learning some of the ins, outs and opportunities in the business world.
Business Horizons, a long-time camp experience offered by the Iowa Association of Business & Industry (ABI) Foundation, concluded its 2025 class with a graduation on Thursday, July 17, at Drake University in Des Moines.
A tradition for more than 40 years, Business Horizons brings together students from grades 9-12 for the unique week-long innovation experience. Over the five-day training event, 66 students collaborated in teams to develop, refine, and pitch original business ventures. Each team was tasked with inventing their own business or product, which had to be designed to benefit high school students.
The teams showcased their inventions through three competitions: a pitch, infomercial, and trade show. One team, known as Industry B, won both Best Pitch and the popularity vote for Best New Product for their creation of NextSumr, a mobile app to connect high school students with summer camps and opportunities.
To see all the student teams’ infomercials visit www.YouTube.com/BusinessHorizons.
Throughout the week, students heard from industry experts on topics such as financial literacy, AI and coding, project management, infomercial editing, and more.
Students completing Business Horizons had the opportunity to earn three transferable college credits from the Jacobson Institute at the University of Iowa.
According to ABI, students stepped outside the comfort of their home communities to collaborate with peers in building their business ventures. They grew more comfortable with public speaking, built their confidence, and put into practice working with a diverse group of fellow students.
The annual camp experience is offered at little or no cost to many students thanks to these generous program sponsors: Collins Aerospace, an RTX Company, along with the leading annual sponsors: Atlantic Bottling Company, Emerson, Grinnell Mutual and Wellmark.
Among this year’s class were two Quad Cities area students: Siddhi Bharadway, Pleasant Valley High School, and Andrei Robles, Wilton High School.
The other 2025 participants were: Suad Abdella, Hoover High School, Des Moines; Cam Alley, Van Meter High School; Penelope Bair, Des Moines Prep in Ankeny; Jackson Bidwell, East Marshall, LeGrand; Brooklyn Bizunhe, Sioux City East High School; Dylan Boothe, Des Moines Prep in Des Moines; Julianne Brown, BCLUW, Conrad; Chloe Carney, Dubuque Senior High School; Ella Ciliberto Iowa City West High School; Maddie Clark, Norwalk High School; Avery Collins, Des Moines Christian School, Urbandale; Quinn Coonan, Dowling Catholic High School, Des Moines; Caroline Dobbs, Waukee Northwest; Logan Driscoll, Johnston High School; Sloan Edwards, Des Moines Christian School, Urbandale; and Maddie Estrada, Des Moines Prep in Des Moines.
Also, James Foo, Johnston High School; Joanna Foo, Johnston High School; Haley Goodhue, Carlisle High School; and Abby Guo, Iowa City West High School;
Phoenix Hamilton, Cedar Falls High School; Kennik Hartzer, Des Moines Prep; Ayala Hawthorne, Winterset High School; Maia Heldenbrand, Des Moines Prep; Guto Kallai, Waukee High School; Calen Keegan, Siouxland Christian; Cameron Kinkade, Carroll High School; Rowan Kness, Fairfield High School; Nike Lin, Carroll High School; Bella Litchfield, Pella High School; Sunny Ma, Waukee High School; Dani McGuire, Saydel High School, Des Moines; Amaya Medina, Des Moines Prep in Des Moines; Janae Meyers, Sonshine Academy, Hubbard; Ebo Mohammed, Valley High School, West Des Moines; and Lexi Murphy, Mount Pleasant High School.
Also, Niyera Naphtali, North High School, Des Moines; and Ava Norem, Norwalk High School;
Antonio Patino, Roosevelt High School Des Moines; Jack Rooney, Centennial High School, Ankeny; Nardeen Sabri Valley High School, West Des Moines; Noah Shin, Ames High School; Plerpoe Sitoula Hoover High School, Des Moines; Lincoln Slagter, Branson High School; Martin Slagter, Branson High School; Porter Snyder, Carroll High School; Joe Thielen Glideen-Ralston High School, Glideen; Judah Tucker, Carlisle High School; Michaela West, Ames High School; Tori Williams, Mount Pleasant Pleasant High School, Anastasia Zaldana, Des Moines Prep in Des Moines; Bella Zelaya-Colunga, Des Moines Prep in Des Moines; and Heather Zenor, Ames High School.
To learn more about Business Horizons, its program partners and sponsors, or to see photos and videos from 2025, visit www.BusinessHorizonsIowa.com.
