Youth Entrepreneurs™ of Atlanta Helps High School Students Dare to Dream
In its inaugural year, Youth Entrepreneurs of Atlanta (YE-Atl) gave students at two Atlanta high schools a real lesson in business. They heard from local entrepreneurs like Lonnie Johnson, the inventor of the world-famous Super Soaker, and Shane Thompson, who founded nationally franchised Shane’s Rib Shack. They visited Costco Wholesale, planned their own Market Day, and developed a plan for their own business.Fully funded by Georgia-Pacific, Youth Entrepreneurs of Atlanta is an educational program that seeks to teach high school students the fundamentals of free enterprise and essentials for entering the business world. YE-Atl uses a nationally certified curriculum from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship as well as hands-on learning activities and business community involvement to bring out the inherent entrepreneurial talent of each student.
YE-Atl was launched in August 2006 at Benjamin E. Mays and Southside High Schools. In 2007, the program expanded to include three more high schools—Frederick Douglass, Henry W. Grady and Booker T. Washington.
According to JaKathryn Ross, executive director of Youth Entrepreneurs of Atlanta, real-life experience is critical to helping young people realize their potential. “They will be the ones responsible for making our communities and economy stronger,” says Ross. “We need to help them develop these business skills to make positive contributions; entrepreneurship is one avenue to accomplish this.”
Over the course of the year, the students received hands-on training and real-life examples of entrepreneurial success from local business community leaders.Students also participated in a Dare to Dream professional development event, which offered students from both schools an opportunity to network with one another, hear from a motivational speaker and participate in educational breakout sessions. The two-semester program ended with each student completing and presenting a business plan, which, according to Ross, some of the students have hopes to one day execute.