---

They may only be 12 and 13 years-old but a group of students from schools across Asbury Park kicked off their first foray into the world of entrepreneurial endeavors Saturday afternoon.

Created by Interfaith Neighbor’s Business Development Center, this year’s Asbury Park Junior Entrepreneur Training [JET] kicked off Saturday with students from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Hope Academy and Sisters Academy schools getting the lay of of land.

Nakyah Frazier, 13, of Sister’s Academy said she wants to be a chef and hopes to open her own restaurant someday.

“I heard about JET from my friends,” she said. “I joined because I wanted to learn about how business works.”

The JET program is a hands on collaborative of students and volunteer business professionals who bring a product from concept to fruition and then onto the marketplace at the annual Made in Monmouth event during its 15-week time frame.

With a dream of becoming a Forensic Anthropologist, Jaione Murray, 12, from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Middle School said she joined because she liked the creative aspect of the program. From the same school, Mikayla Serrano, 13, said she joined the program because she hopes to own her own veterinarian clinic one day. And while Jennifer Olivera, 12, of Hope Academy, has not yet decided on a career path, she said she joined because she too heard the program was a lot of fun.

“I heard it was a good program,” Olivera said.

The program, no administered in collaboration with the Konscious Youth Development & Service [KYDS] organization headed by Mychal Mills and Rodney Salomon, begins by building product teams who learn the ins and outs of creating a business from scratch by navigating the terrain of selecting and naming a business, pricing, promotion and advertising prior to March presentation of their business plans in order to vie for $200 loans.

Program Co-director Charles W. Simmons has been with the program since its inception.

Once loans have been granted, students work to bring their items through the production process in time for the annual Made in Monmouth event held in April.

This year, Monmouth County SCORE volunteer Robert Weiner returns for the a third year along with newcomer Ashley Fabien, a kindergarten teacher at Hope Academy, and second year volunteers Jan Sparrow of Words bookstore on Cookman Avenue and Sheila Etienne of 2 For Care daycare on Bangs Avenue.

The program was the brainchild of Frank Syphax, who worked for two years to bring the program to the city’s youth.

“It took me a long time but I found a synergy with the Interfaith neighbors who adopted the program,” Syphax said.

—————————————————————–

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---