Hayley, 16
Sweet (dis)SOLVE
When Hayley Hoverter was six, her single working mom brought her along to her job at Starbucks, early in the morning before school. Even at that young age, Hayley found the volume of discarded sugar wrappers distressing.
“I was able to see, firsthand, at a young age, the impact on the environment,” says Hayley, now a high school junior. “I still have the same frustrated attitude towards how people treat the environment. I can’t figure out—with all of the innovations in the business world—why a person must waste so much to do something as trivial as sweeten their favorite beverage.” Read more of Hayley's story. [1]
Shomari, 18
Shamazzle’s Dazzles
Shomari Patterson always knew she wanted her jewelry-making business to incorporate an element of social responsibility. Many worthy causes called to her, but the one that commanded her immediate attention was the plight of victims of human trafficking. Currently, she makes a donation for each piece of jewelry sold to a program that rehabilitates and empowers girls rescued from the sex trade, with “jewelry compassion kits”. Read more of Shomari's story. [2]
Belma & Zermina, 17
Beta Bytes
Bosnian immigrants Belma and Zermina are no longer chasing the America dream. In May they caught it. Beta Bytes, the foreign language and cultural based computer repair service they started through a NFTE class, took 1st place in NFTE New England’s regional competition. In October they won 2nd place in the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Belma was a few months old when Serbs began attacking her small village. Her father threw some clothes in a suitcase and her mother grabbed Belma. When the suitcase became too heavy, her father dropped it, and when Belma became too heavy and her mother started sobbing, Belma’s dad suggested they leave the infant by the side of the road. Nina, whose family fled Bosnia under similar circumstances, is one person who’s glad they didn’t. Soon 15,000 others in Hartford’s Bosnian community will be too. Beta Bytes, their business, is the lifeline between them and American technology. Read more of Belma and Zermina's story. [3]
Jessica, 19
PopsyCakes
Ever since her grandmother taught her how to bake, Jessica has loved measuring and tasting different ingredients – and mixing them up to see how her culinary creations would turn out. But it wasn’t until a few years ago, when Jessica took the NFTE course at her school’s business academy, that baking and business came together in a brand new recipe for success. Jessica had always loved making sweets and treats for children. So, for her business plan, she decided to create a new cupcake concept called PopsyCakes – a cupcake on a pretzel stick. Read more of Jessica's story. [4]
Derron, 18
Rizon Esthetics
For Derron, life has always been a struggle. His father has been in and out of prison his whole life and is currently serving 10 years in the Atlanta Penitentiary. Besides not being there for his family, Derron’s father left his mother with a mortgage and payments on two cars. But his dad also left his son with an important lesson. When Derron saw him doing the wrong things, his father told him that he must not be like him. “He wants me to be better than him,” says Derron. When Derron took the NFTE course at Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the young man discovered a way to do that. Read more of Derron's story. [5]
Zoe, 19
Zoe Damacela Apparel
Zoe grew up in a single parent home, with a mother who was constantly struggling to make ends meet. The two lived on food stamps and moved constantly, spending many nights sleeping in relatives’ guestrooms, on floors, and in basements. “I didn’t know that things could be better,” says the teenager.
Her greatest life lesson came at the age of eight. The young girl desperately wanted a scooter, but her mother couldn’t afford the $60 price tag. So she told her daughter that if the girl could raise half the cost of the scooter, she would come up with the rest. “I pulled out my construction paper, my markers, and my stickers and started to make dozens of greeting cards,” Zoe recalls. Working all day selling greeting cards for $2 each, by nightfall she had the $30 she needed. “That’s what sparked my interest in business.” Read more of Zoe’s story. [6]
Jesus, 19
M2 (Mayan Mind)
When Jesus was 10 years old, he and his family immigrated to America from Mexico, leaving behind everything they had to pursue the American dream. But for a young boy far away from home and friends, that dream soon turned into a nightmare. “I didn’t know how to speak English,” Jesus remembers. “I was hanging around gangs and mired in family problems.” He dropped out of school in the seventh grade and began drinking and smoking marijuana. “When I arrived at the doors of Life Learning Academy, a charter school for at-risk youth, I had nothing,” Jesus says now. Read more of Jesus's story. [7]
