Like all teenagers at the age of 15, I was slightly irritated at the fact that my parents had dragged me to a summer camp that I was originally not interested in. However, my irritation was only temporary and most definitely forgotten by the end of the eventful week. Two years later, I realize that JA Business Week was the beginning of a new passion that I would not have discovered if I hadn’t encountered this program. I don’t know if it was the people, my love for communication, or just the environment in general, but I somehow fell in love with business and everything that comes with it.

The process of creating a marketing plan with a group of people is like no other experience. Extremely different from a school or research project, working with students my own age from all around the area was really an amazing opportunity. One of my favorite parts about the week was getting to work with real local businesses that I am familiar with. It was amazing to create our own Jamba Juice flavor and taste our different combinations. This is not to say, however, that we did not encounter any difficulties along the way, but even so, the challenges were all part of the fun.

Since JA Business Week, I’ve been pursuing my business passions by creating my own small business, trying to get as much experience as I can, and becoming a JA Ambassador. I hope that in the future, I’ll be able to inspire young entrepreneurs to take a step into the business world and to take advantage of all opportunities and unique experiences that it has to offer.

-Jamie Zhu, JA Ambassador