NFTE blog

From NFTE Bay Area

Michael Chow and David Bettner, then of Zynga with Friends, headlined a panel discussion on entrepreneurship at NFTE Bay Area’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Michael and David are best known for inventing and releasing Words with Friends, which topped 60 million downloads.

Written by: Kate Materese

One of the most interesting parts of my NFTE experience so far has been being able to host a variety of volunteers from both the corporate and the entrepreneurial world at my classroom sites. These volunteers come in for a variety of purpose. Some act as motivational speakers, sharing their own stories of trial and triumph, some act as coaches, helping students work on projects and business plans. Students, reticent though many may be to partake in class on an average day, generally perk up when volunteers come in. Suddenly, entrepreneurs become real people and having a career in business seems achievable. 

Today at 9:00 AM ET (Tuesday, November 27th) the Microsoft Giving Tuesday begins! This is your last chance to Double Your Impact and your gift to NFTE through the generosity of the people at Microsoft. Matches will be made up to $1,000 per donor, per project on the Give For Youth website, and funding is limited. 

By Edgar Ocana, NFTE New England graduate

By Kate Materese

Hello again!

Carlos and I underwent training at NFTE U-- a warp speed experience that compressed what children in program classrooms across the country will learn through NFTE into a four day seminar for adults.  Teachers and program managers in attendance were asked to create business plans based on NFTE’s new business plan template for students.

Intro by: Sylvia McKinney, NFTE Philadelphia Executive Director

NFTE Philadelphia is busy getting back into the routine of school, but last year’s regional challenge winners are also busy. They’re prepping for next month’s NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Both young entrepreneurs who will represent the Philadelphia program office, Raleigh Russell and Dominique Hughes, share their paths to success.

NFTE's program offices anticipate helping more than 18,000 students discover entrepreneurship this school year. That's nearly 2,000 additional students compared to last school year.

The South Florida program office, in 2011-2012, reached the most students overall, while the NY Metro program office brought NFTE to the most schools. The chart below shows the number of schools where NFTE is at work and the number of students who completed the program.

School bells are ringing, and NFTE is ready to help more young people develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This school year, two new members of NFTE’s New York Metro program office, Kate Materese and Carlos Mendoza, will blog about working with NFTE students and learning the NFTE way. Today, meet Carlos:

Hi, my name is Carlos Mendoza and I am excited to be part of the NFTE family!  Prior to joining NFTE, I was a member of City Year New York from 2008-2012, where I had the opportunity to manage and coach diverse teams of AmeriCorps members in two Queens public middle schools—IS 126 and IS 204—around their work to improve their students’ attendance, behavior, and performance in English and math.

How can a college degree statistically improve your odds of finding a job? Look at this job growth data for people with a high school diploma, some college, or bachelor’s degree via Whitney Tilson.