The Big Win: College job experience pays big dividends for downtown Ellensburg business owner Megan West

Megan West opened Claim Clothing, a clothing boutique in downtown Ellensburg, in May 2014, nearly a year after she graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in apparel, textiles and merchandising. She also completed minors in apparel design and retail management.

A year later, West was receiving regional and statewide recognition. In 2015, West won the Enterprise Challenge, a business plan competition for business owners in Yakima and Kittitas counties. During the same year, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Washington State Main Street program.

Read more of this story in the Yakima Herald-Republic.