BRUNSWICK — Brunswick High School student Julia Brown will travel to Washington, D.C., in March after being selected to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program.

A press release announced that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has selected Brown alongside Scarborough student Adam Cohen to participate in the week-long trip to tour Congress in session.

A total of 102 students will head to Washington, D.C., from March 3-10, with funding from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The students will visit landmarks around the capital and will meet with senators, cabinet officials, and government leaders during their trips and will receive a $5,000 college scholarship.

Maine’s first Young Entrepreneurs Academy starting

TOPSHAM — The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, or YEA!, is an innovative program that guides students through the process of starting their own real business, according to a news release from Steven Wallace, president of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber. He announced the creation of the first and only YEA! Academy in Maine with cooperation with Southern New Hampshire University.

“YEA! is a groundbreaking program that takes students between the ages of 11 and 18 through the process of starting or launching a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year,” states the release. “By the end of the class, students own and operate fully-formed and functioning businesses, which may be carried after their graduation from the program.”

YEA! aims at teaching students at an early age how to make a job, not just take a job. YEA! was developed at the University of Rochester with support from The Kauffman Foundation.

“We are excited about the expansion and specifically chose Southern New Hampshire University because of its reputation for academic excellence,” said Gayle Jagel, the CEO and founder of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. In 2008, YEA! “spun-off” from the University of Rochester and currently operates YEA! sites in colleges, universities and high schools across the country.

The program requires a six-month, 99 hour commitment from its young executives. In that time they brainstorm and form their enterprises, make pitches to potential investors, obtain funding, register their companies with governmental agencies, and actually launch their own company or social movement. Business mentors, graphic designers and local entrepreneurs support the students throughout the program and all of the learning is real and experiential.

“We are delighted to host the YEA! program in our facility, both in our capacity as a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and because SNHU’s academic reputation is business,” said William Yerxa, director of SNHU’s Brunswick campus. “As one who started a business at age 8 myself, the logic of engaging our youth in the culture and processes of entrepreneurialism is inescapable … the earlier, the better.”

Maine State Chamber President Dana Connors agreed. “We are excited to be a partner in this very promising opportunity. As we bring together leaders from the business community, educators and our young people, we build a bridge to the future of Maine, a future and an economy that is strong and vibrant. With its focus on empowering our young people, the Young Entrepreneurs Academy has the ability to spark the spirit of entrepreneurship in them, and to ensure that this deep tradition continues in Maine.”

Students from any school in the Midcoast region, ages 11 to 18, are invited to apply to attend YEA! Academy, starting in January. For more information, contact Erin Blomquist, YEA! program manager, or Steven Wallace at 725- 8797 extension 2, or email info@midcoastmaine.com.

Brunswick’s Van Dyck among top young artists

MIAMI — Theodore Van Dyck of Brunswick, who attends Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, is a YoungArts Finalist in Music.

Chosen from more than 5,000 applicants in nine disciplines in the visual, literary and performing arts, he will embark on a once-in-a-lifetime experience provided by YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, according to a news release.

Van Dyck will join 151 other finalists for YoungArts Week in Miami from Jan. 9 to 14 for master classes by world-renowned artists; performances and exhibitions; and the possibility to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts and visit the White House.

YoungArts Week performances will be livestreamed on www.youngarts.org.

“We are honored to recognize these fine young artists,” said Paul T. Lehr, NFAA’s executive director. “They represent the next generation of extraordinary artistic talent, and it is our hope that their experience with YoungArts will compel them to pursue their passions.”

The students attending YoungArts Week were selected in a blind adjudication process from a pool representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as all U.S. territories. The adjudication process will continue during YoungArts Week to determine further award levels. Monetary awards ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 will be presented to students exhibiting excellence in their discipline.

Also to be determined from this pool of 152 YoungArts Finalists are the 2012 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts, an award given at the White House with the opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

According to the release, YoungArts is the only organization in the nation to recognize students in nine discipline categories of cinematic arts, dance, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing.

The YoungArts program has honored more than 16,000 young artists with more than $6 million in monetary awards and nearly $84 million in college scholarship opportunities. Many alumni have gone on to become leading professionals in their fields. Alumni include actresses Vanessa Williams and Kerry Washington, four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza, executive director of American Ballet Theatre Rachel Moore, recording artists Nicki Minaj and Chris Young, musician Jennifer Koh, choreographer Desmond Richardson, and internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Doug Aitken.