What do four
high school students from
York, Irmo, Pendleton and Bennettsville, SC
have in common? They all received 2005
Merrill Lynch Young Entrepreneur Awards,
given to middle and high school students
who possess an entrepreneurial spirit to
develop and run their own businesses.
Nominated by an advisor or teacher, each
student must demonstrate him or herself as
a good role model who has figured out how
to put “honest” money into their pockets.
Young Entrepreneurs take the summer lawncutting
business or lemonade stand to a
whole new level.
They were recognized at the annual SCCEE
Awards Banquet on Friday, April 22 at the
Riverbanks Zoo and will receive a cash prize.
Sweet Rewards
Sixteen-year-old Samuel
Hall works year-round at the Bush-N-Vine,
his family’s 80-acre farm, in York, SC. He
tends the produce and even is responsible
for growing fresh-from-the-field strawberries
during the fall, a fruit typically harvested in
the spring.
The York Comprehensive High School junior
never thought his love for farming would bring
him recognition. “I’m honored,” he says. “Not
many people are recognized with this award.”
Frank Sandifer, agricultural instructor at the
Floyd D. Johnson Technology Center and
Samuel’s FFA advisor says, “I’m tickled to
death that he got the award. I’m just glad
he’s getting the recog-nition because of all
the effort and hard work he puts in to farming.”
Samuel hopes to have a career in agriculture.
“It’s sort of my nature. I’ve always liked
being outside. I don’t like being behind a
desk,” he says.
All that jazz
Krystal Harrell likes to jazz things up. She is a junior
at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, SC, and is already running
her own mobile boutique. She sells jewelry, handbags, funky flip-flops
and other accessories to her friends, neighbors and the community.
Norma Lynn, Krystal’s marketing instructor at Dutch Fork,
is quite proud of her student.
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“Krystal is an excellent
entre-preneur,” says
Lynn. “She understands how to market her
products and determine the pricing the market
will bear. She’s determined to make her
business work.”
Power of the purse
Natalie Morris needed
a purse to match her dress for the Clemson
University Homecoming eekend, so she
designed and made her own. At the time,
the Pendleton High School sophomore was
learning to sew in Teresa Horton’s family and
consumer sciences class.
“Natalie was making purses made with Kool-
Aid packets and placemats for her and her
friends. Then she started taking orders from
teachers and people in the community,” says
Horton, who was impressed by Natalie’s initiative
and nominated her for the Young
Entrepreneur award.
Now a junior, Natalie has her pocketbooks
for sale at salons, boutiques and other specialty
shops throughout the Upstate. Her
business continues to thrive.
Showing the love
While a participant in the
Youth Entrepreneur Program (YEP) in 5th
grade, Stephen Love learned the importance
of owning his own business. He also learned
in his Title One Media Literacy class how tooperate a video
camera. He caught on quickly
and began using an analog video camera to
produce videos of family and friends' special
occasions. People in Bennettsville began
to take notice.
Now this 9th grader at Marlboro County High
School is running the video production
business Love Scene Productions, filming
weddings and other community events. It's a
perfect mix of his acquired skills from
involvement in YEP, along with his creativity
and production talents. He uses the Pinnacle
Studio for editing and production.
Eva Chiphe, YEP coordinator, nominated
Stephen for the Young Entrepreneur Award.
See more here on page 4. |
