The 2012 Young Leaders Event: A Showcase for Enterprising Students
Vernon Jordan III is pumped. The high school senior, bound for Muhlenberg College in the fall, has been afforded the opportunity to end his high school experience with style as the Master of Ceremonies at our May 16 Young Leaders Event at Urban Outfitters Headquarters at the Navy Yard. “I’m looking forward to giving excitement to the crowd, helping to promote all the wonderful youth that are part of the event, and joining a host of young professionals – my future peers – in their endeavors to leave their marks,” said Jordan.
The event will provide the enterprising students of our H.Y.P.E. (Helping Youth Pursue Excellence) Teen Program at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs the opportunity to showcase their varied talents and interests, a platform on which they intend to shine. "The event is going to be our largest audience yet," said MC Bernard Connor, a member of the student-operated Inner Power Records. "This is good because we want to share our message that hip-hop music can be about the youth making positive choices. We are challenging stereotypes every time we get on stage." The entrepreneurial skills of the H.Y.P.E. students will also be on display during the event, and middle-school student Khalef Williams is excited about the possibilities. "It is going to be a good night to make money," he said. "We made these new products people are going to want to buy."
As any good entrepreneur knows, self-promotion is a key component to any successful commercial enterprise - a lesson the H.Y.P.E. students have learned experientially as they have been integral in helping to plan and promote the Young Leaders Event. Dobbins High School student Chante Smith designed the logo that is emblazoned on all of the event's promotional materials, and students in our Harold A. Honickman Young Entrepreneur Program (situated within the larger H.Y.P.E. program) worked closely with the Young Leaders committee to select products for sale and craft special event deals. Students in the film class even created a short piece promoting H.Y.P.E. and their experiences within it.
When the students visited the Urban Outfitters Headquarters to prepare their product displays, they were pretty wide-eyed. "The space is huge," said Khalef Williams. "People working there can get really good-looking snacks, lift some weights, read books, or just look at - but not feed - the fish." So, if you plan to attend the event, please heed Khalef's warning and do not feed the fish. It's not too late to register for the event - visit us here to get your tickets for the May 16 event at Urban Outfitters Headquarters at the Navy Yard. Click here for a full list of items available for bid at the event auction.
