Application Period Open to Small Businesses for Fourth Buff Business Summit

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - Area small businesses interested in interacting with top high school students can apply now for the fourth annual Buff Business Summit and Challenge at West Texas A&M University.

Application deadline is Aug. 31 for the summit, the signature event of WT's Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business for high school students.

Applications can be filled out at bit.ly/buffbusinesspartner.

About 600 students from Amarillo and Canyon independent school districts are expected to gather over three days in October and November in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center for fast-paced, experiential learning sessions with selected business owners and faculty members from the Engler College.

"The Buff Business Summit has proven to be one of the Engler College's strongest partnerships with local school districts," said Dr. Amjad Abdullat, dean. "It proves opportunities to students who might not otherwise understand the opportunities available to them in business and brings them to the WT campus, where many are able to tour facilities and meet faculty for the first time."

Participating students will work in the morning sessions with faculty members in high-energy, hands-on learning activities in all areas of business. During the afternoon sessions, students will work in teams to solve real-world challenges presented by the business partners-anything from how to reach new markets to commercializing a new product.

Teams pitch their final solutions to a panel of judges including the business owner, an Engler College alumnus, an Engler College faculty member, and staff from the WT Enterprise Center and America's Small Business Development Center at WT.

Twelve Texas Panhandle businesses will be selected to take part in the sessions. Business owners will present a challenge to the students, whose solutions will be pitched to a panel of judges.

Students on the winning team each will receive $500 scholarships; a total of $48,000 in scholarships has been presented since 2024.

"This program has been wildly successful, with students providing actionable solutions that business owners can implement," said Gina Woodward, WT Enterprise Center executive director. "Several participating business owners have hired students from past teams to help execute their pitches."

Summit sessions will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 2, Oct. 7 and Nov. 6.

Participating schools are expected to include Canyon High School, Randall High School, West Plains High School, AmTech Career Academy, Caprock High School and Palo Duro High School, with others still possible.

The summit helps build undergraduate academic excellence by recruiting talented students to attend WT, as laid out in the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: Dr. Sean Humphreys, WT's Pickens Professor of Computer Information Systems, leads a session at the 2025 Buff Business Summit.

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