BOONE— Ryan M. Klinger of Troutman, a senior industrial design major at Appalachian State University, has received the 2010 Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The $2,500 scholarship award is presented annually by the Center for Entrepreneurship in Appalachian’s Walker College of Business to recognize exceptional entrepreneurial achievement by a student. It was presented during the 2010 Young Entrepreneurs Symposium, which was sponsored by Backyard Burgers.

Klinger was selected by a panel of judges for his outstanding entrepreneurial achievement in technology, design and business endeavors.  “His accomplishments border on the impossible,” said one of his nominators.  Klinger’s entrepreneurial endeavors began at age 9 when he collected and sold baseball cards.  At 16, he became a licensed wholesale car audio system distributor and created system packages that he installed at competitive prices.

Klinger continued his professional entrepreneurial journey when he and two friends entered the “Juicy Ideas” creativity competition sponsored by Google and AdvantageWest. The competition was a nation-wide initiative to encourage entrepreneurship and communicate a message of environmental responsibility. Klinger’s team’s entry, a bicycle built out of recycled water bottles, won first place in both the regional and national competitions. The team was recognized in Asheville, Chicago and at Google’s headquarters in California.

In addition to providing publicity for the team’s winning entry, the contest enabled the students to showcase their work at the 2009 Innoventure Conference in Greenville, S.C.  At that conference, they made many connections, including forming a partnership with Milliken & Company, which is now using a new plastic product that will ultimately be used to build the commuter bikes Klinger and his team are currently prototyping.

Klinger also found the time to become a luthier, won second place in the annual chair design competition sponsored by Appalachian’s Department of Technology, and most recently came in second place in an international design competition called Greener Gadgets.  He received this award in New York City the day after receiving the Student Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Pam Lewis, senior vice president of entrepreneurial development at AdvantageWest, who was the founder and creator of the “Juicy Ideas” competition, said “Since first meeting Ryan, upon presenting him with the regional first-place award for ‘Juicy Ideas,’ I have watched the transformation of a bright young industrial design student into an entrepreneur and more importantly a leader. I am a big fan of Ryan’s and look forward to seeing where his innovative ideas take him; his future is bright.  He is the ideal recipient of the 2010 Appalachian State University Student Entrepreneur of the Year.”

The other student nominees for the award are:

Ryan Barringer, a senior theatre and arts major (design and technology track)
Eric Lippert, a junior marketing/entrepreneurship double major
Nicholas Seligman, a junior philosophy major
Kelly Penick, a junior hospitality and tourism management major
Kelly McRell, a senior interdisciplinary studies major
Thomas Brigman, a junior political science major
Michael Roper, a senior music industry studies major

For more information about the award or the Center for Entrepreneurship, contact Julia Rowland at  rowlandja@appstate.edu or 262-8325, or Bryan Toney at toneybc@appstate.edu or 262-6196.

###