NFTE blog

“Our high school feels like an elementary school,” and that’s creating an engaged student body. Gallup recently released results from a student poll that show a dramatic decline in student engagement from elementary school to high school.

From NFTE Bay Area

Michael Chow and David Bettner, then of Zynga with Friends, headlined a panel discussion on entrepreneurship at NFTE Bay Area’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Michael and David are best known for inventing and releasing Words with Friends, which topped 60 million downloads.

What apps have you designed? 28 Students in NFTE’s New York Metro NYC Generation Tech program just completed the inaugural program to design and build a usable app. The winning app, selected by a team of judges, including Tumblr founder, David Karp, is SkooBrik.

By: Keon Massey, 12th Grade NFTE Student

I didn’t know anything about the fundamentals of business when I was first introduced to the entrepreneurship class at my school, but I knew that I loved marketing. In September, my NFTE class went on a field trip to the Philadelphia Convention Center to meet and work with professionals from Ernst & Young. At the EY Connect Day,  I was introduced to Mrs. Sylvia McKinney, the executive director of NFTE Philadelphia, and the business world. We all had an assignment to develop a better business plan from a business assigned to us at random. The group that I led performed perfectly, and we won the competition that day.

That was just for starters

As we prepare for the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, NFTE Greater Dallas has a great deal to brag about! 

The school year is in full swing and have already held so many great events. Our first event took place on a rainy Saturday in September when we had over 100 students come together and work with several volunteers to review and revise their submissions for the World Series of Innovation. NFTE Dallas had over 150 submissions with two business ideas making it to the final round. Congratulations to all.

Written by: Kate Materese

One of the most interesting parts of my NFTE experience so far has been being able to host a variety of volunteers from both the corporate and the entrepreneurial world at my classroom sites. These volunteers come in for a variety of purpose. Some act as motivational speakers, sharing their own stories of trial and triumph, some act as coaches, helping students work on projects and business plans. Students, reticent though many may be to partake in class on an average day, generally perk up when volunteers come in. Suddenly, entrepreneurs become real people and having a career in business seems achievable. 

By Edgar Ocana, NFTE New England graduate

By Kate Materese

Hi everyone--

When reflecting on my NFTE experiences this week, I couldn’t help but entertain a few philosophical musings.  Please indulge briefly, since I believe these highlight a unique facet of what we at NFTE do.

Despite all of the interconnectedness of our modern technological society, America is often a nation of fragmentation.  It’s the 99% v. the 1%; Unions v. corporations; Democrats v. Republicans; race v. race; religion v. religion—the list goes on.  Especially in a city as large as New York, it’s easy to forget that the 8 million people living here do collectively comprise a single community.

School bells are ringing, and NFTE is ready to help more young people develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This school year, two new members of NFTE’s New York Metro program office, Kate Materese and Carlos Mendoza, will blog about working with NFTE students and learning the NFTE way. Today, meet Carlos:

Hi, my name is Carlos Mendoza and I am excited to be part of the NFTE family!  Prior to joining NFTE, I was a member of City Year New York from 2008-2012, where I had the opportunity to manage and coach diverse teams of AmeriCorps members in two Queens public middle schools—IS 126 and IS 204—around their work to improve their students’ attendance, behavior, and performance in English and math.