Lake High School Students Win Global Award at Junior Achievement’s National Student Leadership Summit, North Canton Hoover Students Compete

Canton, Ohio – Fresh from placing first and second in Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio’s local JA Company Program® competition, two teams of local high school students were among 15 finalist teams selected to compete at the virtual Junior Achievement National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS). The students competed in the three-day event, June 16-18, against other teen entrepreneurs from across the United States.

Stark high school students founded ColorWall and YouChoose as part of their participation in JA Company Program^®, in which students start and run a real business enterprise under the guidance of a volunteer from the local business community. The teens devise a product designed to fill an unmet consumer need, produce and market their product or service, and recruit investors for their company.

ColorWall, founded by Lake High School students in Aja Tompot’s class with volunteer Ken Brott (KDB Services), aimed to promote community connection, globally and locally, with fair trade awareness in its products and profits. By selling certified fair source tapestries as well as student-designed color-your-own pieces, ColorWall highlighted their mission of creating social and visual beauty in our world.

North Canton Hoover High School students in Mike Grady’s class with volunteer Joe Rozsa (Site 14) founded YouChoose to highlight the connection between mental health and words. Each engraved tumbler features an empowering word that consumers carry with them throughout the day – Confidence, Honesty, Positivity and Strength.

After virtual professional development and networking seminars with peers and national industry experts earlier in the week, winners were announced on a Livestream event on June 18th. Lake’s ColorWall received the Global Possibilities Award, presented by FedEx, honoring the student company with the best business plan with the potential to create jobs and grow small businesses with environmental sustainability.

“At FedEx, we believe a connected world is a better world. We empower everyone from small-business owners to Fortune 500 companies to reach customers all over the world,” said Rose Flenorl, manager of Global Citizenship at FedEx. “The FedEx Global Possibilities platform celebrates the power of global connectivity and the next generation of innovators on the verge of the next big idea. The Global Possibilities Award recognizes a student-run business that best exhibits the principles of global connectivity: Driven by Innovation, Connecting to New Markets, Fueling Community Development and Sustainable and Social Responsibility.”

“Helping the JA teams during the school year was especially rewarding because of the quality of the people involved. It was interesting to see the kids progress in their skills throughout the year,” said Ken Brott of KDB Services, the volunteer mentor for Lake High Schools two student-run companies.

About Junior Achievement USA^® (JA)

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. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches nearly 4.8 million students per year in 106 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations in 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.

About the Global Possibilities Award

FedEx serves as the global sponsor of the Global Possibilities Award, presented by FedEx for JA Worldwide. To be eligible for the Global Possibilities Award, presented by FedEx, a student company must be one of the finalists selected to compete at the JA National Student Leadership Summit in the USA or one of the JA Company of the Year Competitions worldwide. Student company members must complete a seminar conducted by FedEx on the idea and impact of global access.  The Global Possibilities Award, presented by FedEx is given to the JA student company which best demonstrates their understanding and application of global access, leveraging international trade to create jobs, grow small businesses, expand global development and improve the environment.

About FedEx

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 475,000 team members to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. To learn more about how FedEx connects people and possibilities around the world, please visit about.fedex.com.

About Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio

Junior Achievement (JA) of North Central Ohio is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization connecting Ohio students with industry professionals to develop real-world skills through innovative JA programming. Kindergarten through high school students are introduced to relevant and practical skills, including how to manage money, create a career plan, and run a successful business through interactive, age-appropriate lessons. For over 67 years, JA of North Central Ohio has been recognized as a leader in delivering quality programming in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness across 15 counties. Learn more about JA of North Central Ohio and the 35,902 local students empowered during the 2018-2019 school year at www.jaofnco.ja.org and by following @jancohio on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.