Student Leadership Opportunities

Ten9Eight

Ten9Eight, a thought provoking film which tells the inspirational stories of several inner city teens (of differing race, religion, and ethnicity) from Harlem to Compton and all points in between, as they compete in an annual business plan competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).

The film includes students such as:

Rodney Walker, age 19, Founder of Forever Life Music and Video Productions. Rodney was put into the foster care system at the age of 5 and ended up homeless on the streets of Chicago. Almost becoming a statistic like many of his brothers, Rodney was able to chart a new future – and is now studying business as a freshman at Morehouse College.

Amanda Loyola, age 16, Founder of Eco-Dog Biscuits. Amanda‟s father escaped from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, finding a job at Burger King in Brooklyn, New York. He inspired his daughter, Amanda, to think that anything might be possible in America. Amanda started her business, a vegetarian dog treat company, after her dog, Princess, died from cancer.

Rodney and Amanda are but two of several remarkably resilient kids featured in this film, all of whom are facing the most challenging of circumstances in the inner city - making their achievements all the more remarkable.

Community Cafe  (video)

The Community Café is a table-service soup kitchen that has served more than 15,000 meals to needy residents since December 2006. Kristen Allcorn founded the Café as part of a high school community service project. Earlier this year, Prudential Financial recognized Kristen as one of the top ten youth volunteers in the country and presented her with a 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Click on the word video to see Kristen at work!

If you want learn about service learning, go to the Learn and Serve Clearinghouse for more information