Karamu High School student selected to attend Entrepreneurs in Action weekend
Being selected to attend this year’s Entrepreneurs in Action Weekend is a dream come true for Karamu High School student Sophie Jones.
The year 13 is one of only two Hawke’s Bay students among 84 from around the country to have been invited to the annual event in Wellington from September 11-13.
The event is hosted by the Young Enterprise Trust, a charity that works with thousands of students around New Zealand to develop skills that will help them in life and business after school.
Having always wanted to attend, but with no time to apply, Sophie bit the bullet and submitted a 60-second video on the last day.
She had to explain why she wanted to attend EIA weekend, an example of a time when she overcame a challenge in a team setting, a business strength of hers and a fun fact about herself.
“I was like ‘you know what, I’m just going to do it’. So I did it in business class and edited the video as soon as I got home.”
While she was hopeful, she “wasn’t sure” whether she would be chosen, as she knew she was up against a high calibre of students. “I’m so glad I have”.
Students will be put into 12 teams of 7 students, and each team will be assigned to a company host who will be their cheerleaders and advisers helping teams navigate their way through two business challenges.
She is “most excited” to be able to work in a “real-life scenario” with people she hasn’t met before”.
“I think it’s really going to help me decide what I want to do next year, particularly being in a hands-on environment with business mentors and other people that I haven’t worked with before and to see what they do.”
At only 17-years-old, she has already formed two companies through the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) run in business studies, over the past two years.
Last year’s venture, Te Awhi published a children’s book called "What I Like About You and Me" which embraces, supports, and encourages others to nurture and accept those who are different from us.
This year, Sophie is the CEO of Jotter, a free to download lifestyle app designed to help people keep on top of their mental health and relax their mind.
Applaud Ltd, a next gen app builder, has partnered with the young entrepreneurs and waived all costs.
Two-hundred-dollars in seed funding from EIT will go towards help assist them in getting the App on to the Apple App Store and Google Play store.
Senior Business Studies teacher Stacey Cornelius said they were immensely proud of Sophie and her achievements.
She says the year 12 and 13 students who applied, but narrowly missed out also deserve recognition.
“I think it’s pretty huge. With business studies, in the last couple of years we have pushed to really excel and we’re really trying to encourage the students and push them to get to that top level.”
This has worked as they have had “some really good success”.
Last year two Karamu High School groups, including Sophie’s, made it to the YES regional finals, competing against five teams. One KHS team also won a national excellence award.
This year, they have already had five groups receive EIT seed funding, and two granted seed funding from the University of Waikato.
Head of YES Elizabeth Pittman said: “Sophie is a self-proclaimed problem-solver, and we're excited to bring her passion and energy for business to EIA weekend.
“Sophie said she has a passion for business and plans to study commerce next year, eventually owning her own business in the future.”
Pittman said EIA is about experiencing business at a fast pace, competing in business challenges, and meeting other YES students with a passion for enterprise.
“They will extend their leadership skills, fast track their understanding of global trade and hopefully have a blast along the way.”
About 4000 students are taking part in the YES programme around the country this year.
