As a new year begins, I think it is fitting to look back in order to set sights for the future.
Hello, my name is Jared Leventhal, and I am humbled to be a 2010 Junior Achievement Inspiration Scholarship Recipient, currently in my third year studying business and engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I understand the need for technical knowledge, which is where my engineering field of study comes into play, but I also cannot imagine going to school without learning more about business.
My first entrepreneurial experience began when I was 11 years old and mowed my neighbor’s yard; the rest is history, as over the next nine years I have successfully built a steady clientele and created a business that helps me to pay for my higher education. During my first year of college, I created my second business with a friend through a business plan competition on campus, and in March 2011 incorporated that media-based business as well. Once it turned profitable in the summer of 2012, I had a startling choice to make: continue to focus on school, or see where my business acumen could take me. Seeing as how my commitment to school was unwavering, and given my progress, I did not want to sacrifice my education, and I sold my half of my second business, again helping me to pay for my next year of college.
Looking ahead, I am involved with what is soon to be a third business, as the engineering research team on campus of which I am a part recently was awarded stage one of a grant for a sustainable venture proposal, of which I authored a significant portion. I am learning how to blend my engineering skills with my love for business, and I can attribute the beginning of this combination to my experience at Pomona High School. From Junior Achievement to DECA to Future Business Leaders of America and every business class I avidly took, I realized that my future lay in entrepreneurship because business is fun. As a shining example, while I was taking Business Law during my senior year of high school, I also learned about Business Ethics through Junior Achievement. Ethics has been ingrained into every path I have taken since 2010, and for that, I am thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of Junior Achievement.
As I move forward, Junior Achievement will forever be an integral component of my education.
-Jared Leventhal
To learn more about Jared’s story, watch the JA Student Success Stories video on the homepage of JAColorado.org.
