Howard County High School Students to Compete at 2017 Junior Achievement National Student Leader Summit

June 5th, 2017

A group of Howard County high school students, who ran a company as part of the Junior Achievement (JA) Rising Women entrepreneurship program, will compete with teen entrepreneurs from across the United States at the 2017 JA National Student Leader Summit (NSLS) in Washington, D.C. on June 19–21.

During the summit, the students will demonstrate their business and entrepreneurial skills in a competitive environment while showcasing their company to business leaders and members of Congress.

“Our students are learning valuable skills that will help them become innovators in our community in the future,” said Dr. Michael J. Martirano, HCPSS’s Acting Superintendent. “These young ladies are likely to be small business owners and job creators, and I wish them the very best in this competition.”

Seventeen students from Howard County high schools including Atholton, Centennial, Howard, Marriotts Ridge, Mt. Hebron and River Hill founded Medley, a company that produced “Heart of HoCo,” a recipe book that celebrates Howard County’s cultural diversity. Medley earned JA of Central Maryland’s Company of the Year title at a recent regional competition. The team was selected as one of the 15 teams to compete in the NSLS. Five students from the Medley team will be selected from the group to compete in D.C.

The student companies will be judged on financial performance, team members’ personal and professional development, a self-produced commercial about the product or service, a presentation to a panel of business leaders, and the company’s performance at an Entrepreneurship Expo on Capitol Hill on the second day of the summit.

Junior Achievement of Central Maryland inspires and prepares young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JACMD provides hands-on programs that show more than 46,000 K–12 students each year the realities of how careers, money and business ownership work.

Junior Achievement is the world’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.