Summer camp challenges high school students to develop and pitch their own mobile business ideas June 13-18, 2027
Registration is now open for Northwood University’s 2027 LAB Week, an immersive summer camp where high school students do more than learn about entrepreneurship: They develop their own business ideas and pitch them at the end of the week. This year’s challenge focuses on mobile businesses that bring products or services directly to customers.
Scheduled for June 13-18 on Northwood’s Midland campus, Learning About Business (LAB) Week brings together students entering grades 9-12 for six days of hands-on learning, collaboration and real-world business challenges.
“Students do more than learn about entrepreneurship in a classroom,” said Patrick McElgunn, Northwood University entrepreneurship chair and LAB Week director. “They dream up a business, work as a team to figure out how it could succeed and pitch their idea at the end of the week. It’s a chance to put what they learn into practice.”
With Mobile Businesses as the 2027 theme, campers will be challenged to create a viable product- or service-based company that goes to its customers rather than requiring customers to visit a storefront. That could mean a mobile pet-grooming service, a traveling arcade, an interior design business that visits clients or an entirely new idea. The challenge encourages students to think creatively about how a business could operate on a smaller scale and potentially be launched on a modest budget.
Throughout the week, students will build on their ideas as they participate in workshops focused on leadership, management, marketing, communication and international business. The experience includes a Mini-MBA with Northwood faculty and culminates in a Shark Tank-style pitch competition, where teams present the businesses they have developed and explain how their ideas could work in the real world.
Beyond developing business skills, LAB Week offers participants a firsthand look at college life. Students connect with Northwood professors and current students, build friendships with peers who share their interests and discover how the principles of free enterprise can help them achieve their goals.
For Midland’s Jamison Geisler, LAB Week proved to be more than a summer experience.
Geisler first attended the camp while preparing to enter his sophomore year at Dow High School. The experience helped influence his decision to attend Northwood University, where he continued developing his passion for entrepreneurship. In 2026, he returned to LAB Week as a counselor, helping the next generation of campers discover their own potential.
“LAB Week definitely played a role in my choosing to attend Northwood,” Geisler said. “I got to see firsthand what the college experience was like. I met great people and saw what the community was about — not just the students, but also the amazing professors.”
Geisler credits the experience with helping him build confidence, strengthen his public speaking skills and form meaningful connections. He encourages other high school students to take advantage of the opportunity.
“You get the full college experience of sitting in a lecture, having discussions, living on campus and more,” he said. “It can even help you discover — or narrow down — what you want to pursue in college and in life.”
McElgunn said Geisler’s experience demonstrates how LAB Week can have an impact long after students leave campus.
“Jamison’s progression from camper to counselor illustrates the lasting value of the LAB Week experience,” McElgunn said. “A program that once introduced him to Northwood has now given him the opportunity to represent the university and help other students envision what they could accomplish.”
LAB Week is designed for high school students interested in business, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, whether they already have a business idea or are just beginning to explore their interests.
A limited number of scholarships are available for residential campers, who stay on Northwood’s campus throughout the week, and for commuter students who live in Midland County. Scholarship applications are due by 11:59 p.m. April 10, 2027, with recipients to be announced by May 1.
Students and families interested in learning more about LAB Week, eligibility requirements, scholarships and registration are encouraged to visit northwood.edu/lab.
