The Entrepreneurship Center at 285 South 68th Street Place opens its programs to all ages, including programs focusing on primary and secondary school students.
Junior Achievement of Lincoln resides on the fifth floor of the EC, and takes a different spin on assisting beginning businessmen and women.
“We’re a non-profit organization that empowers young people to make their own economic success,” President Tera Norris remarked. “We teach financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship.”
Junior Achievement of Lincoln is the local branch of Junior Achievement – a national organization aimed at preparing students for their future. The group uses volunteers – successful entrepreneurs and businessmen and women – to visit schools and teach grades K-12 at public and parochial schools in Lincoln.
The organization has been around for forty years, with the last six residing in the EC.
“We reach 17,000 students…7th in the overall market share (per capita).” Norris announced. “We give more tools for students to be more successful.”
In addition to visiting and teaching at schools, Junior Achievement also sponsors events. The Driven Youth Invitational is a seven week program, featuring guest speaker entrepreneurs, where students gain an intensive curriculum of knowledge. Norris recommends it to any young entrepreneurial mind.
Junior Achievement of Lincoln enjoys its home at the EC. “It’s a perfect fit for us to be here,” Norris commented. “It was a perfect fit for us.”
Lincoln Public Schools has a proxy school on site at the Entrepreneurship center as well. The Entrepreneurship Focus Program of LPS is open to all area high schools, whether public, private or homeschool.
In addition to their on-site offering of required classes, the class of approximately 80 students has the opportunity to take courses such as Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Opportunity Analysis, Microfinance and Marketing.
The EFP is run by LPS teachers and staff and administrated by Principal John Neal. To find out more about the LPS EFP, visit http://wp.lps.org/eship/
For more information on Junior Achievement, visit http://ja.org/ for national news or http://jalincoln.org/ for local information and events.
This article is #7 of a series on the Entrepreneurship Center, its instructors and its alumni. The following article will close this series with what benefit the center offers to non-entrepreneurial students.