Fisher Entrepreneurs Mentor Youth Entrepreneurs at Junior Achievement Summit

A group of business students from St. John Fisher University generously volunteered their time and expertise at the Junior Achievement Entrepreneurial Youth Summit Event held at the end of November.

Junior Achievement (JA) USA is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA aims to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.

Mentored by current entrepreneurs, university students, and industry experts, over 100 high school students from around the Rochester area worked in small “incubator” groups throughout the day learning the fundamentals of bringing ideas to fruition and ultimately pitching their business concepts.

Caleb Thomas, Angelea Collins, Johnathan Aiello, Francesca Carzo, Madeline Nadrich, Kristin Lennarz, MBA Program director, and Dr. Chantz Miles, the Rebecca Pelino ’86 Entrepreneur-in-Residence and visiting assistant professor, each mentored a group of six high school students, guiding them in brainstorming, innovating, researching, and refining a business idea before presenting it to a panel of judges.

“I wanted to give back to a new generation of students who can learn and grow from those before them. The best part of being a mentor was seeing my group of students collaborating and sparking creativity among each other. This makes me excited for the creativity and potential of young entrepreneurs in the Rochester Community,” said Aiello.

Angelea Collins, a marketing major who is also the CEO of her own cupcake company called Frosted, had been involved with a similar program during her high school years as a young entrepreneur herself. 

“I was once in the shoes of these students, with dreams of starting my own business and doing so at a young age. Thanks to all I learned in my own experiences with JA and in particular at this summit, I was able to reach that goal. So, it means a lot to me to be able to participate as a mentor to share my story and experience with these students in an effort to help them reach their goals,” said Collins.

Following a highly competitive initial round of presentations, the teams mentored by Collins and Chantz advanced to the final round. Collins’ group secured the first-place position, while Miles’ team achieved a commendable third-place finish.