January 25, 2010
By Robin Kaminski/The Daily Item

While most high school seniors are dreaming about an upcoming prom or hatching a plan for a skip day, a dozen English High students are busy creating their very own business.

The group is called the Lynn Entrepreneurial Student Initiative (LESI) and they are working in part with S.C.O.R.E. (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Lynn school system and the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce (LACC) to learn the mechanics of managing a business and developing leadership skills.

Now having met every week for nearly five months, the select group of seven students have whittled down their ideas to one and are gearing up to present their business plan and annual report during two company board meetings.

ITEM PHOTO
Lynn English High School students (from left) Isaak Kifle, Blanca Reyes, Simone Pilecki, Stephanie Breault, Ryan McKernan and Samantha Hoy participate in a workshop with Chamber president Leslie Gould and SCORE counselor Ken Kramer last Thursday. Item Photo/ Reba M. Saldanha

"We came up with NuGen, which means new generation, and will help other businesses market to the teenage group," said Blanca Reyes, president of the group. "Our first client is Community Credit Union (CCC) and we're working on a proposal for them now."

The plan is to get more high school students to open bank accounts through CCC, in an effort to get them to learn how to manage their money and stay out of debt.

In addition, students are also planning to propose that an ATM machine be installed at English High so that students can freely access their CCC accounts.

Peter Colarusso, chapter president of S.C.O.R.E., said the students run their own company with the help of business professionals, with the mentor team guiding the students as they address ethics, teamwork, leadership skills and goal setting, while they handle the day-to-day operations of their venture.

"In the beginning of the program, the students were like deers in headlights, but now they come in with agendas and have deadlines," he said. "LESI also presents an opportunity for these students to foster a renewed sense of civic pride and responsibility."

Reyes said one of the hardest things for the group to decide on was a logo and a specific plan.

"We thought that would be the easiest thing, but we ended up spending so much time on the logo," she said. "And the time here has gone by so quick."

The ultimate goal for the group, according to Colarusso, is to create a sustaining business that will be passed from senior class to senior class, with this group teaching the next the ins-and-outs of the process.

Under the guidance of a Board of Directors, the students were selected for the year-long program, to meet every week and work with each other to create a viable business capable of surviving in the real world.

Leslie Gould, president of LACC said she is proud the chamber is offering such a positive program for students to learn and grow from.

"It's amazing to me to see them stay the course," she said. "They're never going to think the same way again, because what they learn here, they will apply to real life."

Members of the LESI Board of Directors include: Patricia Brown, Dean, Business Sciences at North Shore Community College; Peter Colarusso and Randi Conley of S.C.O.R.E.; Carol Conway, Lynn Public Schools; Jim Chatterton, CFO Maria Court College; State Rep. Robert Fennell; Suzie Moniz, attorney, Vincent Spirito, Lynn School Committee and Gould.