A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student has been honored for entrepreneurship in a competition for student business owners.

Zach Vruwink, Wisconsin Rapids, received the top honor in the Minnesota Region Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) held in Minneapolis on April 30. Along with other regional winners from across the country, he now qualifies to compete in the GSEA Global Finals to be held in Chicago in November.

A freshman political science major at UWSP, Vruwink opened Zach�s Computers in Wisconsin Rapids when he was 15 and a high school freshman, using $500 in savings. Now 19, his service and custom-built computer operation has a customer base of over 1,000 and yearly revenue in the mid six-figure range.

Vruwink previously won the 2006 Wisconsin Area Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award as well as the Lake Michigan Area Award.

"I started from scratch," he says about his business. "It wasn�t like opening a franchise. It was, and still is, a constant process of trial and error, balancing employee needs and customer needs. Running your own business is definitely not a spectator sport."

In addition to running Zach�s Computers, Vruwink attends UWSP full time and creates Web design for UWSP Career Services. He hopes to pursue a career in politics or law.