With the holiday season behind us, we're looking forward to working with our education and business partners both new and old in the new year. But first, let's take a moment to look back on the programming in November and December and spotlight the outstanding volunteers, educators, and corporations we have the pleasure of working with. In this edition, we'll also take a look at a JA Alumnae and see what she's been up to since her time receiving JA programming! January 19, 2016 Past Events Global Entrepreneurship Week Forum The Global Entrepreneurship Week Forum was held on November 17th at the L.M. Rivera School in Trenton, New Jersey. This event connected local, successful entrepreneurs with over 100 8th graders as they shared what inspired them to start their own businesses and opened students' eyes to the opportunities provided by entrepreneurship. Past Events JA Titan Fred Baxter, Bruce Boyd, Will Holly, and Teanice Wells- Ernest served as panelists and session leaders who answered questions about the challenges and risk involved in creating a business and what they look for in their employees, and shared their own personal experiences and career paths. Teanice Wells-Ernest, a State Farm Insurance Agency owner, got involved with Junior Achievement to "identify with the need to provide students with tools for careerreadiness and to to provide the basic entrepreneurial
skills." The panelists explained that Junior Achievement is so appealing because of the financial literacy piece and the exposure students can get at such a young age. JA Titan Kickoff! With 28 schools, 434 students, and 165 teams, the third annual JA Titan Competition is poised to become a great competition and learning experience for its participants. JA Titan challenges students to apply their knowledge of business as they compete online in the highly competitive industry of the fictional Holo-Generator. Students compete in a virtual round, which consists of 12 quarters on a platform that allows them to make decisions for business. 64 teams will advance to the regional rounds where 2 virtual rounds will run simultaneously at each location. All of the regional rounds will be taking place in four locations in January; Samsung, Munich RE, Synchronoss, and Horizon. The 1st place winners of the regional Bruce Boyd, Executive Director and Founder of Building Our Youth's Development, has had a direct impact on Junior Achievement by getting young people to see the importance and power they have to make a contribution to their future. All the volunteers strongly believe in the importance of mentorship, encouraging the students to dream big, work hard, and reach their full potential. All of the panelists and some 8th grade students from L.M. Rivera School at the Global Entrepreneurship Forum North Women's Future Leadership Forum Waverly Ke and her mentee JANJ's annual North Women's Future Leadership Forum took place on December 11, 2015 at AT&T in Bedminster, NJ. JA is dedicated to empowering all students to own their economic success, with the knowledge that women tend to succeed in secondary education, but are still unequally represented in the business world.
rounds will advance to the final round, which will take place at Ethicon on February 12, 2016. Many students have benefitted from JA Titan because it has helped them learn about new aspects of the business world, which they can now take into the real world. JA Spotlight Corporate Nearly 90 women from various careers and professions joined 90 high school girls for an inspirational day of leadership and empowerment. An executive panel discussion moderated by NJTV's Mary Alice Williams kicked off the event, followed by one-on-one mentoring sessions, a networking lunch, and small group teambuilding activities. Waverly Ke, from Tiffany & Co, served as a first-time mentor this year. "I enjoyed the panel in the beginning of the forum where each women leader shared their personal experience. It was very inspirational!" Waverly found it easy to connect with her mentee saying, "I like to be paired up with a student where I can form that 1:1 relationship and provide customized coaching." Waverly stressed the importance of learning from your failures when coaching her mentee. Even driven students can feel discouraged by failing, but learning from those mistakes is key to future success. Her most important piece of advice? "It's always important to believe in yourself!" Allstate The Junior Achievement High School Heroes initiative gives high school students the opportunity to serve as role models in their community while building valuable employability skills. The Heroes teach elementary students the basics of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness, and is a memorable service learning project for the high school students who participate. Allstate The Central and South Women's Future Leadership Forums will be held later this year. We'd like to give a big thank you to all of the mentors who spent their day empowering our future leaders! JA Spotlight Educator Rodney Salomon This month we would like to spotlight an extraordinary educator, Rodney Salomon. Rodney is the Youth Development Specialist at The Spot in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The Spot is a New Jersey School Based Youth Service Program. Over the past five years, The Spot has participated in many
Financial Services has promoted the High School Heroes program ardently throughout the state by sponsoring several high school hero JA days. Joyce Buford, the Corporate Relations Regional Division Lead for Allstate New Jersey, is a leader and true champion of JA's High School Heroes. Joyce has helped manage the company's relationship with JA since 2012 and joined the North District JA Board in Fall 2013. She is responsible for approving grants, recruiting agents to speak with the High School Heroes, and coordinating the JA Business Hall of Fame. She is an ardent supporter of the initiative and appreciates how the High School Heroes program inspires kids to strive for excellence. Joyce shares a mutual passion, along with many of our volunteers, for inspiring young minds and letting them know dreams can come true. Joyce has had an illustrious career in the field of communications, with 30 years of experience working for companies such as Merck, PSE&G, and Sears Financial. Junior Achievement events, including the Microsoft Store grand opening, AT&T Job Shadow, JA Career Success, and Rodney's most memorable experience, the JA High School Heroes Initiative. He enjoys helping the youth and putting smiles on the faces of the students. He says " there's nothing I enjoy more than seeing our students and the elementary youth smile from the soul, both doing something meaningful and leaving a seed in their minds that will one day grow into something beautiful." One piece of advice Rodney has for students who want to pursue a career in business is to really take a moment and reflect on WHY they are going into this realm of business: "How will it impact you and the world around you?" He wants young people to dig deeper into their own souls to see how they can use their business to make more than just money, but an impact on overall society. Rodney is a passionate and dedicated educator, a true champion of Junior Achievement, and is very deserving of this honor. Thank you, Rodney! JA Alum Shahedah Williams has had an interest in textiles and fashion since she was a young girl and has taken part in many different activities to pursue her dream today. She was born in Philadelphia and raised in Trinidad in the earlier stages of her life. In Trinidad, she An example of Shahedah Williams' original textiles spent a few years with her creative grandmother who also influenced her aesthetic today. Then, she moved back to Philadelphia where she began to knit and took part in a variety of art programs that broadened her view of art and fashion. In high school, she became involved with Junior Achievement which gave her the opportunity to interact with other children and serve as mentor. Her time with JA helped her develop her own business. She lived in Trenton throughout her high school career and started her own community project called Prom scholars. Prom scholars is a fundraiser in which Williams raised funds for Trenton high girls prom needs and first year college needs. Many Trenton high school
When asked about the influence of the High School Heroes program on volunteers, Ms. Buford remarked, "Partnering with Junior Achievement gives Allstate New Jersey employees and agents an opportunity to share valuable financial, career, and life skills lessons with students from Kindergarten to 12th grade and to witness firsthand how the time they spend with these students makes a noticeable and lasting positive impression." Joyce and Allstate's relentless support has been instrumental in expanding the High School Heroes initiative across the state and we thank them for all they do for Junior Achievement! alumni supported her project and Williams was able to do a prom dress drive with the help of the staff and students at Trenton High. In January 2016, she will be looking for two new Trenton high school girls to do this project again and make it even more successful. Now, Shahedah Williams has launched Shahedah Textiles and has a job in NYC working with a childrenswear company. Currently, she is working on a mini collection for spring/summer that includes her own print designs and has some knit pieces included. Her major goal is to take this small business and make it an ethical and successful company. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next spotlight in March! Junior Achievement of New Jersey gioia.kennedy@ja.org www.janj.org 4365 Route 1 South Princeton, NJ 08540