Business studies
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Business is often said to be the most effective way to escape poverty and build generational wealth. Obviously, that's much easier said than done. The business and corporate world can be quite exclusive, and, in the US, the field is dominated by White individuals, many of whom were born into privileged backgrounds. Business concepts are scarcely taught in schools, preventing students from learning about business and entrepreneurship and what they need to succeed in those fields.

Seeing the disadvantages faced by children born to low-income or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) backgrounds, Samuel Kirk decided to leave his corporate career of 17 years to found a nonprofit organization, Creating an Environment of Success (CES), in 1992. Today, CES' flagship project Youth About Business (YAB) is one of the most innovative leadership training programs to help expose young people to options in business and industry.

YAB began with a cohort of just seven students, participating in an entrepreneurial training program to familiarize them with all the mechanics of how to successfully run a business. In 1999, YAB launched the Youth About Business Summer Business Program, its cornerstone activity. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, YAB launched its online academy. This new virtual model allows YAB to reach more students and connect them with an even larger network of business executives and professionals.

The summer program consists of three levels: Business Economy of America (orientation and training), Summer Business Camp (merger & acquisitions simulation camp), and Championship Camp. After the first level, students who perform well during the Business Economy of America are selected to move on to the Summer Business Camp, where they form teams that will participate in a merger and acquisition competition. These teams are advised by industry professionals – including accountants, attorneys, investment bankers, marketing specialists, and technology professionals – who will help students understand complex business transactions.

The top-performing teams of the Summer Business Camp will move on to the Championship Camp, where they will experience firsthand how the world's largest corporations operate and have greater access to corporate executives. This camp features a more complex competition, and the winning team, with the best presentation and written shareholder report, will receive shares of stock in a publicly-traded company.

Since its founding, YAB has touched the lives of more than 8,000 students, equipping them with vital knowledge that has helped them advance their corporate and business careers. This has changed their lives for the better, and its effects will be felt for generations to come.

Alvin Wade, current program director of YAB, participated in the program from 1999 to 2003, which was his first introduction to the business world. The knowledge he learned from the camps helped him tremendously when he went to Duke University for his MBA and subsequently worked at several multinational corporations.

"I didn't have any family members or mentors who could teach me anything about investment banking, consulting, or business school," Alvin says. "But Youth About Business brought me into that world, helping me understand what it would take to get there and to be successful there. YAB planted those seeds, and helped me understand that opportunities abound if you prepare yourself and do the right things diligently."

EJ Reed, another alumnus of Youth About Business, came from a low-performing high school that didn't provide many opportunities outside of sports. One day, the YAB team came to the school to present about the camp. While EJ wasn't selected by his teacher to participate, when one of the students wasn't able to make it, causing a spot to open up, EJ's mother persuaded him and the school to allow him to go to the camp. After graduating college with a degree in finance, EJ worked for a while in corporate finance before going down the entrepreneurial route. He started his first business, a moving company, in his 20s. Beginning with an investment of just a few thousand dollars, EJ and his partners scaled the business and made a seven-figure exit seven years later. Now, EJ owns a chain of pizza restaurants with several locations in Tennessee, Georgia, and California.

"My first year, we did the camp at Vanderbilt University, and the last year was at Tennessee State. It was one of the most life-changing things I've experienced," EJ says. "I believe getting to visit Wall Street in New York and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange shaped the trajectory of my life and made me realize how big the world is. I tell Mr. Kirk all the time that he helped me believe not only in my ability but in the power of understanding principles relating to money. This included business strategy, scaling, and how the corporate world works. He helped take these abstract concepts that young people like me learn in school, and allowed us to apply it in the real world, allowing us to succeed in the paths we choose for ourselves, whether it be in the corporate field or entrepreneurship."